How prepared are you to prepare
your 1040? The earlier
you compile and organize the relevant paperwork, the easier things may be for
you (or the tax preparer working for you). Here are some tips to
help you get ready:
How long should you keep tax returns? The IRS statute of limitations for refunds is 3 years, but if you underreport taxable income, fail to file a return or file a claim for a loss from worthless securities or bad debt deduction, it wants you to keep them longer. You may have heard that keeping your returns for 7 years is wise; some CPAs and tax advisors will tell you to keep them for life. If the tax records are linked to assets, you will want to retain them for when you figure out the depreciation, amortization, or depletion deduction and the gain or loss. Insurers and creditors may want you to keep federal tax returns indefinitely.2
Best Regards,
As a first step, look at your 2012 return. Unless your job, living situation or financial situation has changed
notably since you last filed your taxes, chances are you will need the same set
of forms, schedules and receipts this year as you did last year. So open that
manila folder (or online vault) and make or print a list of the items that
accompanied your 2012 return. You should receive the TY 2013 versions of
everything you need by early February at the latest.
How much documentation is needed? If you don’t freelance or own a business, your list may be short:
W-2(s), 1099-INT(s), perhaps 1099-DIVs or 1099-Bs, a Form 1098 if you pay a
mortgage, and maybe not much more. Independent contractors need their
1099-MISCs, and the self-employed need to compile every bit of documentation
related to business expenses they can find: store and restaurant receipts,
mileage records, utility bills, and so on.1
In totaling receipts, don’t forget charitable donations. The IRS wants all of them to be documented. A taxpayer who donates $250
or more to a qualified charity needs a written acknowledgment of such a
donation. If your own documentation is sufficiently detailed, you may deduct
$0.14 for each mile driven on behalf of a volunteer effort for a qualified
charity.1
Or medical expenses & out-of-pocket expenses. Collect receipts for any expense for which your employer doesn't
reimburse you, and any medical bills that came your way last year.
If you’re turning to a tax preparer, stand out by being
considerate. If you present
clean, neat and well-organized documentation to a preparer, that diligence and
orderliness will matter. You might get better and speedier service as a result:
you are telegraphing that you are a step removed from the clients with missing
or inadequate paperwork.
Also, while you don't want to wait to the last minute, you also shouldn't be too eager as 1099s can often be revised. There are many who are eager to file and later find the revised 1099 may result in lower taxes. However, the only way to get that money back is to file an amended return -- the cost of which is more than the over-payment.
Also, while you don't want to wait to the last minute, you also shouldn't be too eager as 1099s can often be revised. There are many who are eager to file and later find the revised 1099 may result in lower taxes. However, the only way to get that money back is to file an amended return -- the cost of which is more than the over-payment.
Make sure you give
your preparer your federal tax I.D. number (TIN), and remember that joint
filers must supply TINs for each spouse. If you claim anyone as a dependent,
you will need to supply your preparer with that person’s federal tax I.D.
number. Any dependent you claim has to have a TIN, and that goes for newborns,
infants and children as well. So if your kids don’t have Social Security
numbers yet, apply for them now using Form SS-5 (available online or at your
Social Security office). If you claim the Child & Dependent Care Tax
Credit, you will need to show the TIN for the person or business that takes
care of your kids while you work.1,3
While we’re
on the subject of taxes, some other questions are worth examining...
How long should you keep tax returns? The IRS statute of limitations for refunds is 3 years, but if you underreport taxable income, fail to file a return or file a claim for a loss from worthless securities or bad debt deduction, it wants you to keep them longer. You may have heard that keeping your returns for 7 years is wise; some CPAs and tax advisors will tell you to keep them for life. If the tax records are linked to assets, you will want to retain them for when you figure out the depreciation, amortization, or depletion deduction and the gain or loss. Insurers and creditors may want you to keep federal tax returns indefinitely.2
Can you use electronic files as records in audits? Yes. In fact, early in the audit process, the IRS may request accounting
software backup files via Form 4564 (the Information Document Request). Form
4564 asks the taxpayer/preparer to supply the file to the IRS on a flash drive,
CD or DVD, plus the necessary administrator username and password. Nothing is
emailed. The IRS has the ability to read most tax prep software files. For
more, search online for “Electronic Accounting Software Records FAQs.” The IRS
page should be the top result.4
How do you calculate cost basis for an investment? A whole article could be written about this (See: New Cost Basis Reporting Presents Opportunity for Investors), and there are many potential
variables in the calculation. At the most basic level with regards to stock,
the cost basis is original purchase price
+ any commission on the purchase.
So in simple terms,
if you buy 200 shares of the Little Emerging Company @ $20 a share with a $100
commission, your cost basis = $4,100, or $20.50 per share. If you sell all 200
shares for $4,000 and incur another $100 commission linked to the sale, you
lose $200 – the $3,900 you wind up with falls $200 short of your $4,100 cost
basis.5
Numerous factors
affect cost basis: stock splits, dividend reinvestment, how shares of a
security are bought or gifted. Cost basis may also be “stepped up” when an
asset is inherited. Since 2011, brokerages have been required to keep track of
cost basis for stocks and mutual fund shares, and to report cost basis to
investors (and the IRS) when such securities are sold.5
P.S.: this tax season is off to a
late start. Business
filers were able to send in federal tax returns starting January 13, but the
start date for processing 1040 and 1041 forms was pushed back to January 31.
Per federal law, the April 15 deadline for federal tax returns remains in
place, as does the 6-month extension available for those who file IRS Form
4868.6,7
Kevin Kroskey, CFP®, MBA
This article adapted with permission from MarketingLibrary.net, Inc.
Citations.
1 - bankrate.com/finance/taxes/7-ways-to-get-organized-for-the-tax-year-1.aspx [1/6/14]
2 - irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/How-long-should-I-keep-records [8/8/13]
3 - irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Taxpayer-Identification-Numbers-%28TIN%29 [1/17/14]
4 - irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Use-of-Electronic-Accounting-Software-Records;-Frequently-Asked-Questions-and-Answers [5/22/13]
5 - turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Rental-Property/Cost-Basis--Tracking-Your-Tax-Basis/INF12037.html [1/23/14]
6 - irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Starting-Jan.-13-2014-Business-Tax-Filers-Can-File-2013-Returns [1/9/14]
7 - irs.gov/taxtopics/tc301.html [1/22/14]