Every year I normally file our taxes through TurboTax. After marrying my husband, I ended up using the bases free tax center to file. And why is it that in 2018 I just received my portion of Tax Returns back from my 2015 Tax Season… maybe this year I will finally get back my 2016 Taxes? However, I realized that by using the bases free tax center they did not look over our taxes and deductions. Instead they just plugged in W-2’s and that was it? But what about all the money from our write-offs that we should have gotten? Well we did not get them. Thousands of dollars gone. The following year we paid a SSgt to do them. He did file mostly the correct way and we got so much more money back. But this year, this year I am filing so that we may maximize our deductions…and I am so behind but that is okay.
There are a few tips and tricks to make filing taxes so much easier, and to also maximize your return.
- TurboTax or H&R Block Online – I no longer pay people to file for us. WHY you may ask? Because TurboTax and H&R Block online allow you to file yourself for FREE. We use to pay $75 for a SSgt to do it for us, and on base it was free. However, by me filing it myself I am able to make sure ALL of our write-offs are properly being added. And in the end, I can head over to H&R Block and have them check my taxes for FREE (they will do a free second check consultation).
- Receipts – Receipts are VERY important to keep just in case you get audited. I use to forget to keep receipts. However, this year I had bought a little box from Marshall’s that is specifically for all receipts. Therefore, anytime I come home from shopping ALL receipts go into this box. The best part is I do not touch them for a long time. Basically, later in January I will start to go through and separate the receipt with deductions on the. If you are not sure what qualifies as a deduction feel free to head to this blog with a list of what deductions. Can be found by clicking •HERE•
- Highlighters – Invest in highlighters. I buy highlighter packs of multiple colors. I use each color for a certain category. For instance: Blue = Military Job, Yellow = My Job, Pink = College, Green = House, and eventually I will be adding Orange = Dillon’s Business. I then go through each receipt and highlight anything that falls into these categories. Then I sort them apart based on color and then I paperclip them together.
- Spreadsheet – Once my receipts are separated, I then make spread sheets for each category. I list the items and prices made. In the end I total each category up for how much I spent in the year. This means I would have 4 Categories with 4 different yearly totals. I then also calculate mileage cost (you need to keep track of this yourself) and add that to each category it belongs to; it would go into both Military, and My Job category as we travel for both these jobs.
- W-2’s + 1099’s – So first of all I always print out my husband’s W-2 off of MyPay. It is way easier for me to look at and plug-in the numbers. I then also make sure I have a hard copy of my 1099 and any other forms I may have to plug in. For example, I would have a W-2 from my husband’s job, my 1099 since I am an independent contractor, then forms from our house mortgage, my unemployment from when I had to quit my job with the military on the east coast (if you are on orders and have to quit your job due to a PCS you can collect unemployment), and my colleges. Once I am done filing the forms online, I normally file them in our file cabinet just in case I still need them for any other odd reason (example buying a house! Yes, they need old tax information).
Hopefully this helps you learn to file your taxes and to maximize your deductions! I know it has for us. But clearly, I still have to file our taxes this year. Therefore, now I have to go and finish them I guess…
