2013 Tax Season Preparation Check List
Form Created for your convenience by Bowen Accounting
Personal and Family Information
- Address, have you moved recently? Please be sure to tell me if you have.
- Social Security numbers, Birthdays, and full names of family members as they appear on social security cards.
- Marital status - Has anything changed? If so, please be sure to tell me.
Compensation and Deductions
- W-2's (Employee pay)
- 1099's (Contract work pay, unemployment, interest income, and Social Security)
- 1098's (Deductible interest paid; Home mortgage interest, and student loan interest)
Giving and Other Deductions
- Statements of giving from charitable organizations (Cash)
- Donations to Good will, Salvation Army and others (Non-cash)
- Major purchases that you were required to pay sales tax on (vehicles)
- Unreimbursed work expenses
- Escrow Papers, on the purchase or sale of personal home (specifically, Settlement Statement)
Investments
- IRA Contributions & year end statement
- Other retirement accounts year end statements
- Interest and dividends (usually reported on 1099)
Business and Rental
- Compile total income and expenses for businesses (I can help with this)
- Rental income and expenses
- Estimated payments made to the IRS
- Have you sold anything big (equipment, or property)
- Mileage if you used your own car for business use, how many total miles did you drive for the year, and how many of those miles were for business.
Receipts and Substantiation
Actual receipts and invoices are not needed to prepare your return. They are only necessary if you are audited by the IRS. Please keep all of this substantiation for your records and only give me a list of totals.
Note: I will do my best in the interview process, and in the review of last years return to ask you about things that I noticed have changed. However, filing amendments are costly, thus it is crucial that we compile all of the pertinent information properly when preparing the return the first time.