Things I should remember when doing Taxes

1. If choosing to do using a CPA, try to get them to quote a price(most dont, but claim they will give you an estimate if your details are provided)

2. Following documents should be available when doing the taxes -

a. W2

b. Paystub

c. Interest/Divident statement from bank for the checking/savings acc

d. Mortgage Interest payment statement (1098 I think - bank sends that in mail sometime in Jan)

d1. Home Settlement sheet if bought house the previous year.

d2. If paid up front to reduce points from loan, information on that should be available in the Settlement statement.

e. Car taxes payed through the year (Property tax).

f. Home Improvement bills - this is a tricky one. Have to be sure to know what can and what cannot be included in Home Improvement tax deductibles.

g. IRA documents if invested in IRA (or bank issues 1099-R showing the account was closed previous year) - this is issued by bank in Jan.

h. Stocks statment - usually your stock company would have already prepared the Schedule-D and 1099 form for your investements through the year.

i. Charity payments done through the year.

j. Bank Acc details for direct deposit.

Disclaimer: This above list is based only on my personal experience and is in no way definitive. Please keep that in mind when reading this.

-V