Busy Season Underway… and, Help Your Tax Professional Help You

Busy season is well underway and it’s back to a lot of late nights, seven days a week. I am doing my best to avoid cutting corners from ordering takeout food when I feel I don’t have enough time to get dinner together, because we all know about the carbs, fat and grease found in most establishments serving that type of fare.

Whoever you are using to do your taxes this year, help them help you by keeping your records well-organized and summarize what you can. If you have a business or rental property, a tax professional will not have the time to look through a pile of receipts or bank records - your total sales or rent collected and the various expenses need to be summarized in a chart or spreadsheet. If there are any items that you are not sure you should give your tax professional, err on the side of caution and send them with everything else. All of this will reduce any back-and-forth between you and your tax professional and ultimately shorten the time it takes them to complete the return and get it filed. Also - if your bank changed in the last year, it is crucial you give them your new bank’s account and routing number in order to ensure you get your refund as quickly as possible.

While your tax professional works for you, to ensure the best possible result for you, do what you can to make things organized and simpler for them. You will thank yourself for it when the return is filed on time and any refund comes that much sooner.

Until then, rest easy! Now back to work for me…