What Should I Bring to My First Appointment with a Tax Prep Specialist?

Scheduling an appointment with a qualified specialist who provides professional tax preparation in Union City, NJ is the first step to making your life so much easier come tax season. At this appointment, you’ll discuss your financial situation and tax history and determine any strategies as needed to help you save money on your taxes.

You’re going to need to bring some documentation to your first appointment. Every taxpayer’s situation is different, but here are a few examples of some of the most common items your tax prep specialist will want to see:

• Tax returns for previous years: It’s a good idea to keep tax returns from previous years in your files. Bring this paperwork along with you for your tax prep specialist to analyze. We recommend bringing at least three years’ worth.
• Income statements: There are a variety of forms you’ll want to bring along with you, including W-2s, 1098s, 1099s, Schedule K-1 forms and more. You should also bring any information about your investments, educational scholarships, fellowships, purchase dates and investment information for sold stocks and property and any other information about money you earned during this tax year.
• Personal and dependent information: Bring along all information you need about yourself and your dependents, including social security or ITIN numbers, dates of birth, childcare payment records and alimony payment information.
• Retirement and education information: Bring any records of contributions to retirement accounts, as well as records of any higher education expenses, from tuition to supplies and books.
• Deductions: If you plan to itemize your deductions, make sure you have a list of all deductions you wish to take, and information about them. Examples of some common deductions include mortgage interest, personal property taxes, state and local income tax paid in previous years, casualty and theft losses, job search or moving expenses, unreimbursed expenses related to your job, charitable donations (cash or non-cash) and anything else you believe to be deductible.
• Healthcare: Bring a Form 1095-A if you received health insurance from an exchange, and a marketplace exemption certificate if you applied for and received an exemption.
• Investments: Bring any documentation you have about stocks and mutual funds, including the dates you purchased each item sold and the total purchase price of each item sold.
• Self-employment: If you qualify as an independent contractor or self-employed individual, you’ll need to prepare an income statement that includes information about your gross self-employment income for the year and any applicable expenses, categorized by type of expense.
• Rental property: If you have an investment property you rent out to tenants, prepare an income statement summarizing your rental income, associated expenses, rental start date and original base cost for the property or properties.

For more information about the types of records and documentation you should bring with you to your very first appointment with your experienced and knowledgeable tax prep professional at Kedean’s Generation, contact us today. We’d be glad to provide you with additional information and tax preparation facts in Union City, NJ!

Categorised in: Tax Preparation