Preparing for Tax Season

Tax season is right around the corner! Are you doing what you need to do in order to get prepared?

While it is never fun to pay taxes, we know that the Bible talks about money quite a bit. In fact, in Matthew 22:21, Jesus tells us to “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” This verse is specifically telling us to pay our taxes! We also read in Romans 13:1: “Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God and those which exist are established by God.”

As you prepare for tax season, make sure you collect the following items and also consider your options:

How Will You File Your Taxes?

There are online options like Turbo Tax that will charge a small fee, but there is a lot of leg-work involved for you. Conversely, you can hire a tax professional. There is a much larger fee associated with that service, but you may have greater piece of mind knowing that a professional was able to view your files and got you the maximum deductions possible.

Collect Paperwork from All Income Sources

In addition to your job, did you receive any benefits? Did you win money? Were you gifted money? Did you tithe? Did you give to other charitable organizations? Did you make any money on a side gig? Did you buy property? Business expenses? Pay debt? Pay interest on a student loan? Sign up for health insurance via the Market Place? Do you have any assets? Did you contribute to a 401k or ROTH-IRA?

All of these things are important information that you’ll need once you get ready to file.

Did You Pay Anyone?

You know that whether you’ve paid an independent contractor or an employee, if you paid someone for business you need to make sure that you have their information prepared. If you haven’t already, reach out and collect all information from them now so that you can file on April 1st.

Decide What to Do With Your Refund Ahead of Time

If you’re lucky enough to have a refund, decide now what you are going to do with it. It might be tempting to spend it on new clothing or a vacation, but take some time to think about whether or not that is really what you need.

If you have debt, it might be more prudent to pay that off. Other options might be investment, replacing necessary items (such as home appliances), or making repairs to your home.