As 2010 draws to a close and we look forward to the New Year, our minds turn to year-end and the up coming tax season. In just a few short weeks, we’ll be busy working with our clients to complete year end accounting and begin preparation of the tax returns. If you are one of those clients, or someone we hope will become one, there are a few things you can do now to make the tax season easier on yourself.

·        As your tax documents come in, they are almost always marked as containing tax information. Get a basket or a folder, and put all of those documents directly into it as you sort out your mail.

·        Once the organizer arrives, go through it an answer the questions. Doing this up front will save you having to look up information later on.

·        If you sold stocks during the year, be sure you have information on your cost basis for each of them. Many brokerages track this for you, but there may be some stocks they don’t have the information on, and getting that can take some digging.

·        If you are a business owner, use some time in January to complete your bookkeeping, or to get the last of your documents to your accountant for them to finish up.

The earlier you’re ready, and more organized you are, the easier the process of completing your taxes will be. And remember, we’re always here to help!