April 18, 2022… The deadline for submitting your 2021 US tax returns is not too far away. We have three tips that can help you reduce the pain of tax preparation, either for this year… or in the future.

The law states that you must maintain tax records for three years after you file your return, including all receipts for any deductible expenses you have claimed. And it is very easy to forget to save a receipt for your taxes when you are always on the go! But no matter what the deductible expense is – whether you are donating to a local charity, buying office supplies for your small business, spending from your Health Savings Account (HSA), or even trying to keep track of your expenses for a rental property you own, you are required to save the receipt. For families, keeping track of receipts can be especially tricky, because it’s not just your expenses come tax-time… but your spouse’s as well.

TIP: Use an app or implement a system for you (and your family) to use whenever you have a deductible expense. Be sure the app or system allows you to easily save a copy of the receipt, the date, and a description of the expense.

By the time you add up all the tax-related documentation you are required to save, you will most likely have dozens of tax documents (especially in homes that have two working adults). Add in your federal and state tax return, and you are looking at quite a few papers you need to track! Remember, you will need to provide the IRS all your receipts and tax-related paperwork if you ever get audited!

TIP: Save copies of your tax returns with your supporting paperwork to a secure cloud-based storage solution or app vs. your computer. This way you never have to worry about misplacing your important paperwork or even a fire destroying your documentation (or the computer it’s stored on). And, yes, the IRS is perfectly okay with digital copies!

When tax time comes, you will probably receive a lot of forms in the mail. Your employer (or employers) will send you W-2s or 1099s. Your bank will send you a 1099-INT for any qualified accounts. Your brokerage firm will send you a 1099-B, and charities will send you tax receipts for any contributions you made throughout the year. Keeping track of all these forms can be daunting, but if you make it a habit to keep all these documents in one place, it can help reduce the stress of tax time.

TIP: Make it a rule that every time someone in your family receives a tax-related form that they place it in a designated folder in your house.