Tax season may be over, but your responsibilities haven’t ended just yet. Prepare for future tax seasons and be secure in your financial plan by following these tips.

Be Your Own Auditor

Now that you survived the first tax season since the largest tax reform in decades, determine if you need to make updates to your personal finances and records. You don’t need a degree in accounting to audit yourself after tax season, and it can be vital to make sure your financial plan is up to snuff.

For example, start by assessing what you may owe. If you owe more to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), this could mean you were under-withholding from your wages. If you received a large tax refund, you may also need to make adjustments to your withholding, because this can mean you’re giving more money than necessary to the government each month.

Tax Season is Over, What About These Papers?

From W-2s to 1099s, the piles of paperwork you accumulate after tax season can be overwhelming. However, it is important to keep this information because these documents are proof of what you owe or are owed after tax season. You can even use these documents to help file your taxes next year, and keeping proof of your filing will help if you need to make an amended return.

But what should you keep, and for how long should you keep it? Ideally, you want to save your tax records for at least three years. Determine which documents are more important than others, and keep those records even longer. For example, any paperwork related to the purchase of a home or stock is valuable and should be kept longer. Additionally, keep any documents you used to file your tax returns this year. When it is time to ditch these documents, shred them instead of tossing them. Learn more about keeping tax documents here.

If you are struggling with tax debt, don’t wait any longer to seek help. Contact us today.