A tax firm representative explains that required documents depend entirely on your situation, not a universal checklist. For simple returns, you typically need a W-2, mortgage interest statement, bank interest forms, state refund forms, and health insurance documentation. Save all tax-related mail immediately, as it usually contains the forms you need.
What? Every year we get asked as a tax firm, what documents do I need to file my taxes? Honestly, it depends completely on your situation. There's not a magic list. Actually, for our clients, it's one of the reasons why we created an interactive organizer that can be filled out online where it asks prompts of questions, and based on your answers, It then asks for documents that we're likely going to need based on your answers. For someone who has a very simple situation who's looking to DIY your tax returns, you likely are going to have a W-2, maybe a mortgage statement, interest from the bank. If you got a refund the previous year from your state, they usually send you a form that asks about that. If you have some sort of health insurance. You could get any form— there's like 3 different options you can get based on the type of insurance you have and whether you're getting subsidies through like Obamacare. Like, there's just— there's a lot. And I wish— I don't want to sit here and tell you, oh, here's the magic list. There's some CPA firms that actually have a list, and it's like 24 pages of Of options that one could have when filing their tax returns. Frankly, if you can fill out the 24-page organizer, give us a call. We are hiring for accountants because we're a growing company, but you almost— you have to be a trained professional to almost fill out those really long organizers. If you are DIYing it and using some sort of tax software to do your taxes, The software is going to prompt you on the questions and things that you might need, but ultimately I would say as a general rule, when you get a letter in the mail that says important tax document on it, feel free to save that. And then occasionally nowadays, depending on if you've signed up for electronic only or no paper relationship with some of these companies, they usually in my experience have They send an email letting you know the tax document is ready for you to log on and to save, in which case I would recommend doing that the second you see the email. Don't delay it. But, you know, what documents do you need completely depends. There's people out there who don't have W-2 income, and in a very soon video, we are going to try to tackle the question as best we can. For those who are looking to do their own taxes that are independent contractors. A lot more complicated with that stuff, but that's a little teaser for you down the road. Hey, remember, at the end of the day, the IRS is not your friend. We are. Let's help you keep as much money in your pocket as possible. If this was of value to you, please share it with anyone you possibly know. Thanks.
