UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.)-No one-not even accoun
tants-likes to organize receipts,
papers, canceled checks and
financial statements at tax time.
But if you start now, and do a lit
tle at a time, the task will be
easier than if you wait until the
last minute, says a family and
consumer sciences educator in
Penn State’s College of Agricul
tural Sciences.
“The key is to keep good
records,” says Marilyn Furry,
associate professor of extension
education. “That way, in coming
years, you can save the time and
stress of locating documents.”
To avoid dreading the April
tax deadline, Furry offers these
suggestions:
Organize paperwork
“Now’s the time to organize
income receipts, bank and mort
gage statements, medical bills
and charitable donations- any
receipt or paper you’ll need at
income tax preparation time,”
Furry says. “Use file folders for
the different categories and put
them in a box or file labeled
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‘1999 Taxes.’ Search all your
records to be sure you have
everything you need to calculate
your taxes.”
Furry also suggests keeping a
separate folder for home im
provement bills and receipts.
“This file will serve as a a ready
inventory when you sell your
home, or as a record of the cost
and date of replacement or
improvement items,” she says.
Save tax forms, wage
and income statements
“During January, you should
receive wage and income state
ments and tax forms in the
mail,” Furry says. “The envel
opes will be marked ‘tax infor
mation enclosed.’ Put them
immediately in the appropriate
folder.”
To avoid losing or misplacing
1099 s and other important
papers, Furry recommends us
ing a workable filing system.” A
good filing system will save you
time and reduce stress,” she
says. “Whatever you do, don’t
dump everything into a box for
the accountant. If he or she must
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organize your documents before
preparing your tax return, this
will cost you money.”
Read latest tax
planning information
Furry recommends updating
yourself on the most current
information regarding tax de
ductions, exclusions, credits and
other tax matters. Publication
17, “Your Federal Income Tax:
For Individuals,” is revised an
nually and provides easy-to-read
instructions for completing your
return. Call the IRS at (800)
829-3676 to receive Publication
17 and any federal income tax
forms you need.
Begin the process early
“The sooner you start gather
ing information, the better,”
Furry says. “Pull bank state
ments and canceled checks,
investment information, local,
state and federal taxes, child
care expenses, contributions to
an IRA (date, amount invested
and date opened), and state
ments from brokerage accounts
from your files. Compile receipts
for medical expenses that are
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not reimbursed or that you paid
out-of-pocket, employer’s W2s,
and 1099 s from a variety of
sources, including banks and
mutual fund companies. You’ll
need all of these to complete a
tax return.
“Financial advisors suggest
you prepare your return or hire
a preparer very early in 2000,”
she adds. “If additional informa
tion is needed, you’ll have suffi
cient time to get it.”
Complete tax return
in pencil
Furry recommends using
pencil on your tax return so you
can make changes easily. You
also can reduce math errors by
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rounding amounts to the near
est whole dollar. “Then, wait a
few days to review the return for
accuracy and items you may
have missed,” she says. “Com
mon mistakes include math
errors and missing social securi
ty numbers and signatures. The
IRS accepts photocopies of pen
cil-prepared returns, as long as
they include an original signa
ture of the individual(s) filing.
“A great resource for tax tips,
latest changes, tax tables, tax
forms and other valuable infor
mation can be found on the web
at http://www.irs.gov/ind_info/
index.html,” Furry adds. “You
can download IRS Publication
17 from this site.”
Seven categories are included;
housing, food, transportation,
clothing, health care, child care
and education, and miscella
neous goods and services. The
estimates do not include ex
penditures made by grand
parents or friends. Housing
accounts for the largest share of
child-rearing costs, followed by
food. Transportation makes up
between 14 and 15 percent of ex
penses; clothing accounts for 6
to 8 percent and miscellaneous
goods and services (personal
care items and reading materi
als, for example) account for be
tween 10 and 13 percent.