After recently relocating to Florida from the Philadelphia area, I’ve had to make many adjustments both for my business and my personal life. Among the obvious things I miss most like my family and friends are the colors of fall. During this time of year, the air gets cooler and the colors signify the changing of seasons and the new beginnings offered by the upcoming New Year. With Thanksgiving right around the corner and Christmas fast approaching, we may not realize another looming date: April 18, 2017.
Now is the time to prepare for the upcoming tax due date. All of our agendas get busier around this time of year, but it is still imperative to set aside some time for tax planning. According to an article from the Star Tribune and the IRS, “25 percent of taxpayers file their taxes two weeks before the deadline.” April may seem far away at this point, but once 2016 ends, you’ll be working against the clock.
When it comes to getting your taxes done you need to decide who exactly will be completing them. If you decide to do them yourself, there are many applications available today to assist you like TurboTax. There are also apps available for mobile like IRS2Go for iPhone and H&R Block Tax Central for iPhone. You will want to know what tax laws have changed for you at both the federal and local levels.
If doing your taxes yourself seems intimidating, I recommend seeing a CPA for tax planning. They are the experts and you can rest assured that they know the updated laws and any other pertinent information on taxes. Whether your taxes are being filed for you personally or for your business, a CPA can help. For example, if you are a business owner, acting now could be the difference between thousands of dollars in your pocket or the IRS choosing to put the money in an IRA or other tax deferred account.
If you haven’t been keeping track of your tax documents throughout the year, you can use this extra time to catch up. Things like paystubs, receipts, side income and medical expenses are all factored in when doing your taxes. By keeping track of your records throughout the year you also make life easier on you or the CPAs who will be working on your taxes.
Working ahead is always a good idea. A last minute rush to get your taxes done can lead to errors. With this extra time you can gather together pertinent information like the birth of a child, marriage, settlements and the like. April 2017 may seem like it is far away, but before you know it, your taxes will be due and if you start working early, you can sit back and relax while the rest of the country has their annual April tax anxiety.