Tax time is approaching. Your urge to procrastinate is rising rapidly, like a raging river during a flood. Here are ideas to deal with the tax time blues.
The important thing to realize is that once you address your taxes and tackle any big issues, you will feel better, even if you discover you owe more money. At least you will give yourself time to pull your funds together.
- Hire some people. Even if you buy a tax software package, this will help you get a handle on your tax situation. Most programs are easy to use and prevent you from making stupid math errors or – even more important – missing out on deductions and credits you could have claimed.
- Organize your records. Even if you threw it all in a pile all year, now is the time to get in there and sort. As a practical matter, leave all your paperwork, bills and records in one area of the house like a desk or corner hutch. Even if you need to hunt through stuff, you know where to hunt.
- Be honest about your deductions. Don’t misrepresent anything and you won’t have to worry about sleepless nights if you later get notified of an audit by the Internal Revenue Service.
- If you are worried because you will owe lots of money, you need a plan of action now. Figure out how much you owe and start saving. When you get it paid, fix your tax withholding so this will not happen again.
- Remember that filing an extension with the IRS will only give you more time to file the return. It will not give you more time to pay whatever you owe. If you don’t pay what is due by April 15, interest and penalties will start to accrue.
- Give yourself a break. Go to the gym or do some Tai Chi, anything you enjoy that relaxes you. Keep in mind that this too will pass. You will find the money and pay the sum. And if all else fails, pray.
- You can change your tax withholding with your employer as often as you need to. It is always better to have a bit too much withheld than too little. You can also get volunteer help. Many IRS offices will give you free tax assistance. The 800 number and the website are also good sources for free and anonymous information.
One final thought to consider is to decide for yourself what you should have done differently so you can reduce your stress next time when the taxman cometh again.
The copyright of the article Surviving Tax Time Stress in Personal Tax Planning is owned by Therese Haberman. Permission to republish Surviving Tax Time Stress in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
 |
Comments
Mar 10, 2009 2:26 PM
Guest :
1 Comment: