Here are five tips to ensure your tax return is prepared and filed as quickly (and accurately!) as possible.

Tax return tips

1. Keep tax documents in one place. First, missing tax documents is one of the biggest reasons for a delay in filing a tax return! Suppose you receive documents via both physical mail and e-mail. In that case, it’s even more critical that you have one place to store all your documents once you receive them.
2. Organize your tax documents by type. To help make filing your tax return as easy as possible, sort your tax documents in tax return order. Glance through last year’s tax return and create a folder for each section, including income, adjustments to income, itemized deductions, business and rental information, tax credit information, and a miscellaneous bucket.
3. Create a list of notable events from the previous year. You receive a Form W-2 from your employer every year. You will receive a Form 1099 from specific clients each year if you’re in business. But certain tax documents you won’t see each year. Selling a home doesn’t happen every year for most people; likewise, with marriage, divorce, or sending a kid to college. So create a list of significant events over the past year, as some of these occasions may affect your taxes.
4. Remember your signature! You (and your spouse, if married) must sign and date your tax return if physically mailing it to the IRS. No signature could delay the processing of your return (and potential tax refund!) by up to several months. If e-filing, you must also remember to sign Form 8879. This form authorizes the e-filing of your tax return.
5. E-file your return. The IRS has struggled to process paper-filed tax returns over the past three years. In 2021, this backlog reached more than 20 million tax returns. You can avoid an IRS misplacement of your physical return by e-filing. Additionally, you can typically receive refunds within one to two weeks when e-filing.

File today

These are some of the more common reasons why there could be a delay in the preparation and filing of your tax return. Be prepared and file your return this year without a hitch! Contact our RRBB accountants and advisors for assistance today.