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What to Bring for Your Tax Appointment -- Reminders

Be Ready! The time to gather paperwork, sort it, and organize it is NOW, not the night before your appointment! You might miss an important deduction by waiting until the last minute to prepare.

The forms you will need to keep in a safe place until your appointment include:

W-2s. Be sure you have one for each job you worked at. If you worked at more than two jobs, check your records to be certain you remember all jobs worked.

Form 1099-INT & Form 1099-DIV. These forms are issued for each account that pays you interest or dividends. This includes banks, brokerage firms, and even tax-exempt interest (which must be listed even though not taxable).

Other 1099s. Real estate sales are listed on Form 1099-S. Stock sales are listed on Form 1099-B. Foreclosures are listed on Form 1099-A. Social Security is listed on Form 1099-SSA. Unemployment, state tax refunds, and gambling winnings also are reported on Forms 1099.

Form 1098. This form reports interest you paid on your mortgage. Commercial lenders must use this form. Private lenders do not. If you have a private lender, you will need your payment book or a statement from your lender.

Partnership Forms K-1. These forms usually arrive late in the tax season. We want to see you well before they arrive so that we can have everything else ready to go. All you need to do is drop off, fax, or mail the K-1 when it arrives.

Purchase or Refinance your home. If you buy a home or refinance one, we need the settlement, or escrow, statement. If you aren’t sure which one that is, bring the entire packet. If you sold property, we need the sale and original purchase information.

Stock Sales. If you sold stock during the year, we need the original cost! Please be sure you have the "buy" slip for each stock sold. If it is a mutual fund, we need the year end statement for each year of ownership (unless the company sends you a breakdown of the average cost per share). Business Purchases. If you purchased new equipment for your job or business, bring the contracts or receipts. Same with a vehicle purchased for business, bring the contract.

Estimated Tax Payments. Look up the actual date paid and amount for each quarter. Bring copies of cancelled checks paid to the IRS and the state.

Mileage. You must keep some kind of log/diary on a daily or weekly basis to record your car's business use. You also have to record the odometer reading at the beginning and end of the year.

Previous year tax return copy. Bring your previous year federal and state tax return copy, if a new client.

Social Security Card copies for everyone on the tax return.

Voided Check is needed as proof of bank account if you are requesting a Direct Deposit of your refund.