Tax season doesn’t have to be stressful or overwhelming. Even if you hire a tax preparation professional, take steps to get your financial files ready before the appointment to maximize your time and get the best results.

Whether you’re a meticulous filer or you keep all of the past year’s receipts in a shoebox, as April 15 gets closer, you can take steps to ensure that your tax documents are organized and comprehensive. Even if you hire a tax preparation professional or accountant to file your return, you’ll find benefit in getting organized beforehand. Knowing where various documents are and being able to access them easily will speed up your filing process and allow your accountant or tax filing service to clearly understand your financial situation. Follow certain steps to get through this tax season stress-free.

Itemized Deductions

If you keep receipts for itemized deductions, go through them and divide them into categories that fit your specific situation. For instance, create files for business expenses, medical expenses, student loan payments, and property purchases and taxes. Add up the totals in each category and write those down, so that you can easily show your accounting firm or tax preparer how each expense fits into your overall financial story. Having organized receipts will also help you in the unfortunate event of an audit, as you can back up each expense you claimed.

Sources of Income

Your job may not be your only source of income, or you might have more than one job. In addition to your official W-2 or 1099 forms, you will need to provide proof of any interest income from bank accounts and show records for investments over the past year. You may also have income from rental properties, freelance or contract work, or other sources. Before your appointment with your tax preparation services professional, ensure that you have official documentation for all income for the tax year.

Charitable Contributions

You can claim charitable contributions as deductions on your tax return, but you must have materials to back up your claim. Most charities will send out letters of acknowledgement thanking you for your donation; keep those letters, and ensure that the date is close to the date on which you made the donation. You can also present receipts showing that the amount was debited from your bank account.

In addition to getting organized, keep an eye on the various deadlines that come along with tax season. For example, issuers are required to send out W-2 and 1099 forms by January 31, which means if you haven’t received your income tax documentation by mid-February, it’s worth checking in with your employer. As soon as you have all the necessary documents, get ready to file. The closer you get to April 15, the busier your tax preparer will be—and the same goes for the post office! Avoid putting off the job so long that you miss the deadline entirely; if you do miss the deadline, file those back taxes and pay any fines as soon as you are able. If you are organized and proactive about your taxes, there’s no reason you shouldn’t breeze through tax season.

Penny Jones files her own tax returns each year and is a senior Internet marketing strategist for the local online advertising firm Prospect Genius.

Filing taxes is a complicated matter, and it’s easy for taxpayers to make mistakes from time to time. Given the ease with which mistakes are made, the IRS has an audit system that will help to determine whether a taxpayer has been filing correctly. If you’ve been chosen for a tax audit by the IRS, you’re probably stressed out and upset about the possible outcome. A lot of people don’t keep the records they should and thus fear that an audit will end badly for them.

While fearing an IRS audit is understandable, you can put those fears to rest with the proper preparation. If you go about preparing for your audit properly, then things will go much smoother and you won’t have to spend much of your time worrying about possible problems with your tax returns. You can take control and make sure that you are ready for whatever an IRS audit might bring. This will give you more confidence throughout the auditing process.

Gathering Your Financial Information

When you’re faced with an audit from the IRS, you’ll need to gather as much information as you can regarding your financial situation. You should collect your tax returns and all information pertaining to them for the last several years as well as any and all receipts that you have saved that detail your personal expenses. If you want to ensure that you will not have to pay back taxes or enter into settlement agreements, then you should take this task seriously. When going through IRS audits, you will have to provide all of this information, so it’s best to gather it as soon as you can.

Always Be Prepared

The key to avoiding tax penalties and audits in the first place is to make sure that you are keeping a good eye on your financial situation at all times. You should make it a priority to put away all of your receipts for the year, in case you need to refer to them when completing your taxes. The IRS offers taxpayers numerous ways to save on their tax payments, but it’s your responsibility to fill out your forms correctly and keep accurate receipts of your expenses. If you’re a little more organized up front, then you can greatly reduce the risks of being asked to undergo an audit and being forced to deal with tax penalties.

Consulting a Professional

If your audit uncovers some problems with your past tax returns, you will have options for dealing with these issues. You may wish to secure the help of a tax professional who can offer you assistance with tax settlement options. Getting the ideal settlement may be something that is beyond your means, but a tax advocate can help sort things out for you with options such as offers in compromise and much more. Tax settlement can be tricky for you to negotiate on your own, so contacting a professional before an audit may be a wise move.

Penny Jones is an Internet marketer for Prospect Genius. She specializes in financial issues and search engine optimization for local businesses.

Car and truck windshields are built to be strong and resistant to impact, but even the latest technology can’t always prevent cracks, chips, and other types of windshield damage. One of the most common causes of minor windshield damage is flying or falling objects, such as stones, rocks, or chunks of ice. Depending on the severity, rock chip repair can be a lot simpler and much less expensive than a full windshield replacement. Regardless of what caused the crack or chip, many automotive experts caution against postponing auto glass repair. Windshield cracks can often get worse if not repaired in a timely way, which can further compromise the ability of the windshield to provide protection and driving safety. Cracks and chips that occur in a driver’s line of vision can also create a potential hazard by diminishing visibility.

When windshield replacement or auto glass repair becomes a necessity, mobile windshield repair services are often available to reduce the inconvenience. If mobile windshield repair can be arranged, it’s possible to have the technician come to your location, rather than having to drop your car off at the local auto glass shop. Automobile insurance may cover at least part of the cost of windshield repairs or replacement, so the expense of the service should be somewhat offset. If you’re fortunate enough to find a service-oriented auto glass repair shop, they’ll provide a free estimate, a lifetime warranty on labor, and even take care of the insurance paperwork for you.

Helpful information about auto glass repair can be easily found from a variety of sources on the Internet, including the National Windshield Repair Association (NWRA). Searching online for the phrase “windshield repair facts” is another way to find answers to frequently asked questions. To increase the likelihood that quality control standards are followed when you need auto glass repair, the association advises consumers to seek out the services of an NWRA-certified technician. According to the trade association, a technician well trained in rock chip repair should do a final inspection of the windshield from the driver’s seat to “ensure clarity without distraction.” One indication that a chipped windshield repair has been done properly is that the point of impact has been made flush with the surface of the windshield. If that detail has been neglected, there will be a problem with the proper functioning of the windshield wipers.

To be an informed consumer and to make sure the windshield replacement or repair remains securely intact, there are several important questions to ask the auto glass repair technician or service manager. After a windshield has been replaced, a driver usually has to wait from one to three hours before the car can be safely driven–sometimes longer. That’s important information to know, along with any recommended waiting time before being able to safely drive the vehicle through a car wash.

Nothing strikes fear in the hearts of taxpayers more than having to cope with the complexities of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). For individuals and businesses faced with mounting tax debt, dealing with this bureaucratic behemoth can be especially treacherous.

One tool that could bring you some much-needed tax relief is an offer in compromise. After all other payment options have been exhausted, an offer in compromise could be precisely the solution you seek. This is an agreement between you and the IRS that allows you to settle your tax debt for less than the amount you owe, but only if you can prove that you cannot cover your entire tax liability or if doing so would create a genuine financial hardship.

First, you need to determine whether or not you qualify for a compromise offer. While each case is examined on an individual basis, the IRS will take into account your ability to pay, your income and expenses, and your asset equity. You are also required to be up to date with all of your tax filing and payment obligations. If you or your business is in an open bankruptcy proceeding, you are not eligible to apply for this tax settlement program.

Once you have established your eligibility, you can start preparing the necessary offer in compromise forms and documentation or consult an accounting professional who specializes in tax resolution services to assemble the paperwork for you. You’ll find all of the requisite forms along with step-by-step instructions on the IRS’s Web site.

Along with your documentation, you will need to include a $150 non-refundable application fee as well as a non-refundable start-up payment. This initial payment will vary depending on the offer you make and payment option you choose. Option one allows you to pay 20% of the total offer up front with the remaining balance due in five or fewer allotments following written acceptance from the IRS. Option two lets you submit your first payment with your application and continue to pay off the remaining balance in monthly installments while the agency evaluates your offer. Only individuals who meet the Low Income Certification guidelines may waive the application fee.

It can take as long as two years to complete the entire offer in compromise process, from the initial preparation of forms to the final payment arrangements. While your offer is under examination, you’ll need to keep in mind that certain collection activities will be suspended but penalties and interest will continue to accumulate. A Notice of Federal Tax Lien may also be filed, giving the IRS a legal claim to your property as security for payment of your tax debt. Typically a lien will not be released until the payment terms of the accepted offer have been met, or the tax debt is paid in full, whichever comes first.

The IRS approves only a fraction of the offer in compromise applications it receives each year. However, if you’re one of the thousands of taxpayers able to document and prove the right set of circumstances, this legal contract between you and the IRS could be precisely the tool you need to lighten your heavy tax load.

Your local accountants can provide you with a range of services from tax preparation to payroll services. Leave your finances safely in the hands of the professionals so you can focus on the other details of helping your company succeed!

Think accountants are just for balancing the books? Think your small business doesn’t need the help of an accounting firm to succeed? Well, you might want to reconsider! Accounting companies can provide a full range of financial management services to help your company get ahead.

Payroll Processing Services

From payroll taxes to the routine chore of cutting the checks themselves, payroll can take up a lot of your time and energy. But your area accountants can provide you with reliable, on-time payroll processing services, freeing you up to focus on other aspects of your company. Making certain that your payroll is accurate week after week, payroll services can help your business run like a well-oiled machine.

Tax Preparation Services

Business taxes are even more complicated than personal taxes, and with serious repercussions for errors, you don’t want to risk making a mistake. That’s where your local accounting firm comes in. Providing complete tax preparation services for businesses as well as individuals, these experts can help you ensure your taxes are filed accurately. Don’t take the chance of messing up your taxes–and your company’s financial future–by attempting to DIY your taxes this year. Leave them safely in the hands of the pros when you use professional accountants for all your business taxes.

General Accounting

On top of these other specialized services, your accountant can make managing your finances easier with accurate, precise bookkeeping and accounting. Sure, you can try to keep your books balanced yourself, but why subject yourself to hours hunched over the computer trying to track income and expenditures. Your accountancy firm can take all the stress and frustration–not to mention possibility of error–out of managing your company’s finances. Call in the pros and you’ll get professional results!

So stop trying to handle your business’s finances yourself. Get the professional help you need from your area accountants and help your company succeed!