Tax Tuesday & Alphabet Soup

It is amazing that no one really cares about my "CPA" or "tax accounting job" until recently. Suddenly all of my friends are incredibly interested and find themselves asking questions like "Wait, so what do you do again?" and "So, you are going to help me with my taxes right?" I wish I could do all of my friend's taxes (do you really want to trust me with all that personal information?) but alas, it is tax season (clearly) and thus I am working WAY to many hours as it is. And do I really feel that confident?

Taxes have become a hot topic, and especially for young professionals who may be filing their first tax return by themselves. Over the last week I have heard people who were worried about how they would file, what they needed, would they take all the right exemptions, and are they still going to get a refund? This isn't just from my "non-finance" friends. The anticipation of tax season even extends into my tax accounting coworkers- who although we know HOW to read tax forms and code, may not have done individual taxes since that one class way back in college that we barely remember.

We have ten weeks until our tax returns are due. That is ten tuesdays until the beloved April 15th, and so I have decided to try to give tips, advice, and help each tuesday regarding the terrible taxes.  (Please note, if you are one of those people who do not even know what April 15th is- you should probably just take your information to HR Block)

Whether you decide to do your own taxes or hire an accountant, you need to gather information and prepare. The form names seems to cause anxiety. "W- WHAT? Schedule M? I...? something something T? EZ? Which reminds me of alphabet soup. (random letters. little meaning)

W-2 - This form is used to report wages earned by employees and the taxes withheld from them. Your employer should provide you with this form (most likely in the mail). Make sure you get this form and also save it. (for some reason it looks like junk mail when it comes in.

1098-T,E -  These forms refer to student loan interest statements (E) and tuition statements (T). Student loans? yes, this form can save you money. But if your university is like mine, they don't just mail it out to you. You have to (1) try to figure out your super old password and user name or (2) fax a request for one to be mailed. Oh yea, and they won't mail it until two weeks after the request is received (really!?)

1099 INT, DIV, B, MISC - The 1099 series reports other income (besides what is on your W-2) Interest (I) Dividends (D) Sales Proceeds (B) and that random side job (MISC). That old mutual fund you had from your childhood that is now in your name? Yep, you better get your parents to mail you the 1099. Independent contractor? Start filling out your 1099-MISC. Mortgage? Yes, you need your mortgage interest statement.

K-1 Statements- These report the income earned from any trusts, partnerships or small businesses you might have been involved with or invested in.

What else do you need to gather?  IRA contributions, education expenses, childcare expenses, healthcare fees, gambling losses (hey- these finally might come in handy!), summary of moving expenses. (There are also great resources on the IRA's Indiviudals website -  I visit it when I have trouble sleeping at night)

I am pretty sure I have just lost every blog reader I ever had. Don't worry, tax tuesday will have shorter and more informative blog posts for the next 9 weeks. This week's homework? Call your alma mater, call your parents, call your company, and make sure you get all of the statements you need.  

What do you think? Helpful? Or does the subject of taxes make you run frantically from your computer?