4 Steps You Can Take Now if You Have Complicated Assets for Next Year’s Taxes
Taxes
Life can be complicated enough without having to deal with tax returns. This is especially true when you have complicated assets that have changed in a taxable way during the current year.
To help make the year a little less stressful, it’s important to get a jump on your taxes now by taking care of these complicated assets while there’s still time.
Collect the Necessary Paperwork
Over the course of a year, it can be easy to lose track of the paperwork related to your complicated assets.
Rather than try and assemble it all at the last minute, it’s good to take some time in the current year and put it all together.
You’ll want to be sure to scan this paperwork or put it in a fireproof safe to ensure that it’s protected in the event of an emergency.
Hire a Tax Attorney
If your tax situation is especially complicated, you stand to benefit greatly from hiring a tax attorney.
Having tax attorneys on your side ensures that you have access to a breadth of information that would be difficult to obtain otherwise.
Hiring a tax attorney now ensures that you can make the best moves to limit your tax liabilities for the next filing year so that you don’t receive a nasty surprise from the IRS.
Divest the Assets
Sometimes, to help simplify your tax situation, the best thing you can do is to divest your most complicated assets.
While this clearly isn’t an option in every situation, divestiture tends to “stop the clock” on certain complicated assets, meaning you’ll have less paperwork to fill out.
Plus, if you end up selling these assets at a loss, it could further reduce the taxes you owe, especially if you’ve had an otherwise good year.
Understand the Forms
With most preliminary tax forms already being available for the next tax year, now makes a great time to start looking over these forms to determine if you will run into any snags.
By filling out “practice copies” of the forms you’ll need, you’ll be ready to act quickly when the final forms become available.
While you’re working on your forms, make sure to get any questions you may have answered by a qualified tax professional.
Don’t let the busyness of the holiday season stand in the way of making necessary preparations for next year’s tax filing.
Even if starting now creates a little more work for yourself, it will be more than worth it when you’re able to quickly and correctly fill out the tax forms in the new year.
Just keep in mind the sense of accomplishment you experience when you submit your taxes as a way to help keep you motivated.
Category: Taxes
