Sorting through your tax-time paperwork is certainly burdensome, but worse still is having to store it for years without ever knowing when it’s OK to get rid of it. Wisebread says that while you should keep a copy of each return indefinitely, taxpayers can shred most supporting documents after three years. Keep only the paperwork that lists the purchase price of any securities you own, so that you can later report any gains or losses. If you claimed a capital loss on a past year’s return, however, keep that documentation for seven years.
Tag: tax time
Filing Is Key to Organization of Tax Documents
To get your tax documents organized as a small business owner, create a desktop filing system that’s within easy reach of your workspace, says A Bowl Full of Lemons. Label folders with headers such as “Income” and “Taxes Paid,” and also create a folder for every category of deduction you plan to itemize, such as business travel, office expenses and charitable donations. And remember that your donations of lightly used clothing and household goods made to ClothingDonations.org are fully tax-deductible, since proceeds help fund veterans’ programs. Save your receipts!
Keep Your Paperwork Organized for Tax Time
As frequent readers of the ClothingDonations.org Organizing Blog know, the key to living a stress-free life is to stay organized — and that is never more true than at tax time. Whether you prepare a return yourself or have a professional do it, Bankrate says, having all of the necessary paperwork in order is crucial to filing the most accurate and favorable tax return. And if you failed to keep all of your receipts and other documentation sorted this year, you already know that this is a great time to get organized, so that next year’s taxes won’t present any unpleasant surprises.