6 Tax Tips for Filing Season Readiness

As tax filing season approaches, it’s a good time to make sure you’re ready to file your tax returns. This way, you can file as soon as possible. If you’re expecting a refund, this will help you get that refund as quickly as possible. 

However, there’s another important reason to file as soon as possible – to prevent tax identity thieves from filing tax returns using our information. You can find more information on how to avoid tax identity theft here. 

Here are 6 things you can do to get ready for filing your taxes. 

1. Keep your contact information up to date.

Make sure all businesses, financial institutions, and organizations that send you tax documents have your current address, email, and phone number as applicable. It isn’t always easy or fun to speak with former employers, but not having a W-2 makes filing an accurate tax return more difficult.

At a minimum, always make sure that you have your last pay stub with year-to-date income and tax information whenever you leave employment. 

There are procedures for filing without W-2s, but this can cause a delay in filing your tax return. You are better off obtaining all of your tax documents. If, despite a valiant effort, you can’t get a needed tax document, the IRS has guidance here. 

2. Review, update, and collect documentation from the tax year.

These are items you need for tax preparation that aren’t tax documents provided to you by law, for example, child care payments and records or invoices and receipts related to tax deductions or credits. If you have a side gig, business, or rental property this can also mean your record of expenses and income. 

If you got married or added dependents make sure you have social security numbers and social security cards, birth certificates and marriage certificates. 

If you are DIYing tax prep you may not have to provide the documents during tax prep, but you’ll need information from those documents. If you have a paid or volunteer preparer then you’ll want to have the information and documents ready to share with them. 

3. Check for changes in tax law.

Use your favorite search engine to help you get ideas on any changes in tax law that you may need to look at a bit closer. But don’t rely just on one or two articles you find on the internet. Refer to the IRS for official updates. 

Most IRS publications and instructions have a “What’s New” section that explains important changes from the prior year. First make sure you are reading the current tax year version. For example, if you are filing in 2024, the tax year version should be 2023. 

Then check the “What’s New” section to find things you may want to review in detail. For example, one publication for all individual taxpayers (meaning people, not business entities) is Publication 17. The “What’s New” section indicates that there have been changes to the clean vehicle credit. If you bought a clean vehicle or are planning to buy one, then you should take a closer look at that topic. To make use of this credit you need to have certain information and documents. The sooner you know what those are, the sooner you’ll be ready to file. 

All individual taxpayers should check Publication 17 and the 1040 Instructions for changes each year. Your particular tax situation will determine what other publications and instructions to check. For example, if you have rental property then the Schedule E instructions may be a good document to check. 

If you self-prepare then your favorite tax software may provide information on tax changes. If you have a tax preparer they should provide you updated information. Also, you can subscribe to newsletters and tax tips from the IRS. 

4. Review last year’s taxes.

Often your tax return will be similar from one year to the next, so looking at last year’s return can be useful. You may identify some things you weren’t sure about last year, so you can do some research before filing to clear up those questions. 

Also, if you are using the same software you can update things like your address and contact information. You can also refamiliarize yourself with the software and make use of tutorials and other resources to help you get ready to file your taxes. 

Reviewing last year’s taxes will also help with the next step, which is to make a checklist.

5. Generate and update your tax prep checklist.

Add the six tips from this article as items on your checklist. Then go into more detail based on your personal circumstances. For example, if you are waiting for three W-2s put them on your list and check them off as you receive them. You want to file as quickly as possible, but also as accurately as possible. Making your own personalized tax prep checklist can help you do both. 

6. Follow IRS and state guidance to prepare for tax filing.

The IRS processes millions of tax returns. They want taxpayers to make their work easier for them. And, while it may be difficult to believe at times, they do want to make it easier for you. So following IRS guidance can make the process easier and quicker all around.

You’ll find IRS tips on preparing for filing season here. They have some great advice on setting up your IRS.gov accounts and making sure your tax withholding is correct. They know the mistakes taxpayers make, so taking some time to read what they have to say is worth the investment. 

Some state governments have helpful income tax related sites and some do not. Regardless, they all share tax changes and provide detailed information on tax filing on their websites, so take some time to review the information your state publishes.