Ready to file your personal income taxes for 2009? Or, perhaps you are not ready, and are thinking of reasons to procrastinate.
Below are a few general tips for preparing your personal taxes. Hopefully, they will help motivate you to take care of the task at hand.
* Do your research.
If you plan to handle your filing, instead of getting professional help, then do your research. You want to make sure that you have the appropriate forms, as a starting point.
One great online resource is the Internal Revenue Service website at www.irs.gov. It contains all kinds of useful information, including a section that is entirely devoted to which form to use.
* Do not wait until the last minute.
No matter how tempting it is, do not wait until the last minute to file your income taxes. If you do, you will be rushed and will be more likely to make mistakes.
Also, if you miss key deadlines, then you may be penalized. Finally, procrastinating on this task will cause you increased anxiety. Why put yourself through that?
No matter how much you dislike doing your taxes, it must be done. You will feel much better if you take care of it sooner rather than later. And, taking care of this with plenty of time to spare will allow you to manage any issues or questions that may come up during the process.
* Get everything organized before you start.
Hopefully, you have been keeping file folders throughout the year with information you will need for your taxes. If not, get everything pulled together before you get started.
It’s very frustrating to get going on your filing, only to realize you do not have all of the paperwork you need on hand. You can avoid that by getting organized and then working on your taxes.
* Consider filling online.
Filing online is a really great way to go, as it is fast and user friendly. One of the most popular online sites is TurboTax (www.turbotax.com. You can either download the software, or use the website platform to file your taxes.
While there will be a fee associated with using TurboTax, many will attest that it is well worth it. Using this tool will likely save you a lot of time, and it truly makes the process simpler for you.
* Consider hiring a professional to file your taxes.
If you are not confident about filing your taxes, or are facing a complex situation, consider hiring a professional to file for you.
One of the more well-known professional tax-preparing organizations is H&R Block. It’s really worth the investment to sit back and let someone else handle the filing, if you are highly uncomfortable about it.
In conclusion, these are a few general tips for filing your individual income taxes for 2009. Your best bet is to go ahead and get started. You will feel relieved once the filling is done, and you may even get some money back!