Time to Gather Those Tax Papers

The holidays are behind us and the new year is here! As those credit card bills start to roll in, Uncle Sam will also be calling for his share of your hard earned dollars this tax season. We’ve included a list of tax documents/records that you should keep in a separate folder to make things handy when it comes time to actually file your federal income tax return. Here they are:

Income Documents

 W-2s

 Form(s) 1099

 Proof of jury duty pay

 Proof of alimony you received

 Social Security statement (1099-SSA)

 Dividend and interest statements (1099-DIV and 1099-INT)

 Retirement distributions (1099-R)

 Brokerage statements (1099-B), along with statements showing when you bought and sold your investments

 K-1 statements reporting profits from partnerships, trusts, and small businesses

 Record of income and expenses for your rental property **

 Record of income and expenses for your self-employment **

**Contact our office if you would like a questionnaire to assist you in gathering this information.

Other Tax Documents

 HUD-1 Escrow statement for property you bought or sold

 Summary of moving expenses **

 Summary of educational expenses (college tuition) **

 Summary of your child care, day care, or adult day care expenses **

 IRA contributions (traditional, SEP, or rollovers)

 Student loan interest paid (1098-E)

**Contact our office if you would like a questionnaire to assist you in gathering this information.

Tax Deduction Documents

 Health care expenses (doctors, dentists, health insurance, eyecare, prescription medicines)

 Real estate taxes

 Mortgage interest paid (form 1098 from your Mortgage Company)

 Gifts to charity **  Last year’s tax preparation fees  Job-related expenses (union dues, job education, uniforms) **

 Loss of property due to casualty or theft

 Gambling losses

**Contact our office if you would like a questionnaire to assist you in gathering this information.

There are a few changes that took place last year that might affect your tax refund (in a good way). Don’t overlook them! These include:

 First time homebuyer’s tax credit

 Home energy tax credit

 Increased higher education tax credit

 Property tax deduction (for those that do not normally itemize)

 Sales tax deduction for new car purchases (made after Feb, 2009)

 Making Work Pay tax credit

We cannot emphasize enough that GOOD RECORD-KEEPING is an essential must when it comes to claiming deductions on your tax return! If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact E-File Florida at (954)583-8534 or by email: info@efileflorida.com. We are here as a resource to you. Feel free to visit our website at http://www.efileflorida.com and sign up for our free Tax Tips newsletter.