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Who else loves filing taxes ?? ?!?
*crickets*
Yeah… filing taxes can feel a little overwhelming. But it really doesn’t have to be that scary! I’ve partnered with 1040.com to bring you some tips for filing your taxes this year.
First off, if you are a millennial I feel 99% confident you are filing on-line (because how awful does trying to figure this ish out with a pen and paper sound?!?). But there are like 10,000 million options to file your taxes online today so I wanted to introduce you to my friends at 1040.com, a DIY tax return filing application. They make it super easy, fast, and simple with their questions to ensure you are snagging all the tax breaks available to you!
*Okay, admit it, you’re starting to dread this a little less…*
Plus it gets better, you know we are all about giving back at TCM and so is 1040.com! For every tax return filed with 1040.com, they donate $2 to Healing Waters International. Each donation equals two months of clean water for someone in a developing country! Last year they raised enough money to fund 2.5 million gallons. That’s a whole year of clean water for almost 15,000 people!
*So not only are you keeping the IRS off your tail, but you are helping people!*
Alright, let’s hop to it…
1. Be on time.
The tax filing deadline this year is Tuesday, April 18th (it’s normally the 15th every year but that’s a Saturday and then Monday is a holiday). Which means you still have plenty of time to clear a couple of hours in your schedule (if this is your first time filing, I suggest clearing a little extra time)!
ACTION STEP: Bust out your phone (which you is either sitting next to your or you’re reading this on) right now and schedule a time one Saturday morning you plan to get your taxes done! (how adult does that sound haha)
2. Gather all the important info
This is the most frustrating part of filing your taxes IMO. If it was up to me, I would file on the first day it’s allowed each year! But you have to wait for certain documents to get sent in from the previous year before you can do that, so I usually end up filing in March. Here is a helpful little checklist of what you need:
ACTION STEP: Throughout the year, create a physical or digital folder with all of the above information. As soon as you get something, file it! If you haven't gotten these together yet, I would recommend setting aside some timebeforeyour “tax filing” Saturday morning to make sure you have it all… nothing would frustrate me more than sitting down to do my taxes and realize I am missing something and have to come back to it later.
3. Look for expenses to deduct & save receipts!
You can deduct expenses for moving, job hunting, and equipment or office supplies from a side hustle. Make sure you always save and track the receipts for these throughout the year! There are tons of “receipt keeper” apps today to make this easy for the future. Also, if you ever get audited you need to show what the item has only been used for work. In other words, if you bought a gorgeous red dress that you wear to work sometimes, but you also are wearing for Valentine’s day dinner with BAE – you cannot write it off! — BUT you can write off a required work uniform (I'm looking at you fugly non-slip work shoes from my waitressing days!)
ACTION STEP: If you don't have a receipt filing system in place already, download a receipt tracking app like shoebox, receipt hog, or wave receipts now! Start snapping pictures of your receipts moving forward (not only is this a good habit for taxes, but it's a good habit to gaining insight into where your money is going and if you could change things up in your budget).
Happy filing! Do you have any tips or tools you use for filing taxes? Let me know in the comments!
*This post is sponsored by 1040.com but all opinions are my own and provided for educational purposes, not as expert or professional advice.
Looking to save more money? Grab TCM's checklist of saving tips!
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