How to Maximize Your Tax Refund

Taxes may not cross the minds of many people until January or February, but planning ahead can greatly benefit the size of your return. From planning to tracking, here are a few tips to help you get the most out of your return.

Be organized: keep records of everything! For expense tracking, make copies of receipts or keep the originals, write down mileage, and hold onto any bills or invoices. Keeping the originals will be helpful to both you and your CPA. Make all your files easy to access and manage, which will make your life easier in the event of an audit. Your CPA will thank you, too.

Maintain records throughout the year: as previously stated, keep track of everything! Logging expenses and deductions throughout the year can save you a ton of time and stress at tax time. You don’t want to play catch up at the 11th hour; doing so is stressful and could cause you to overlook deductions or make mistakes on your return. Struggle with organization? Never underestimate the usefulness of spreadsheets, or a good expense tracking app. Or both.

Dedicate time to researching deductions: plan ahead for which deductions and credits you want to claim. Doing so will minimize stress when you are filing taxes, and will help you ensure that you qualify for the deduction. If you employ a CPA, discuss your intended deductions and tax credits: they can make sure you qualify and can help you maximize your return.

Find a good CPA: returns, deductions, credits, tax shelters, it can all be confusing and a good CPA can help you make sense of all of it.

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