Tax preparation can be incredibly stressful, especially if you live paycheck to paycheck and never get any budgeting assistance. In fact every year, Americans spend 7.6 billion hours on tax preparation. On top of that, accounting for home builders, for homeowners, or accounting for start up business makes everything different for each person. However, it doesn’t always have to be so stressful. You can always have an accountant prepare your taxes for you and save the time and trouble of doing them yourself. Check out some dos and don’ts of tax filing so that you can be prepared during this tax season!

DOs

Make sure you have all of your income information on hand! There’s nothing worse than misplacing something and having to wait to file.

Carefully consider your filing status. Often filing separately even though you’re married can be beneficial. The extra time and effort you put in can be worth it!

Know the ways that you can bump up your refund! For example, if you’re looking into refinancing your home, that can significantly increase your tax return.

Be aware of new tax laws, which can increase your refund.

Invest in tax planning, accounting tax preparation and budgeting assistance. These can help you see the little things throughout the year that affect your refund.

DON’Ts

Don’t shy away from tax deductions! Keep travel records and keep track of your volunteer work or school expenses. These can help at tax time!

Don’t wait until the last minute to file! This can result in your or your accountant having to rush through the process which can lead to oversights and you losing your money.

Our last tip: if you have no idea what you’re doing, ask for help! For a standard federal tax return, an accountant can prepare your paperwork for you for just $273 on average. If you can’t afford for an accountant to do your taxes, ask your parents or a friend who’s really great with math and/or paperwork. As we said in the last tip, you don’t want to lose your valuable money!

What are you planning to do with your return? Around 30% of Americans say they will use their refund to pay down debt, 28% will save or invest it, and 26% say they have those funds set aside for necessities. Do you have any thoughts or comments on filing your taxes? Let us know in the comments!