Talking taxes: preparing for next tax season

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

It is less than three weeks out from the deadline to file taxes.

While some people may still need to file this year, others may already be thinking about next year.

Experts explain

Tax expert Samantha Dent talks about preparing for the next tax season.

How should people prepare now to get ahead for next year?

So I think the biggest part of that is just knowing what you've got. So what I mean by that is, you know, knowing all your income sources, knowing what's taxable, what's not. Another good thing to do is to be checking your pay stub also to you know, put into pre-tax deductions, like, you know, retirement or flex plans. You know, let your accountant know about any changes you've got going on. What we're doing all year long, you know, is, is what we're looking at at the end of the year. So it's good to be on top of what you've got.

What can help you strategize to maximize your tax savings?

Um, you know, as I mentioned before, any pre-tax deductions that your employer offers, are always a good way to maximize. You know, there's things like flex plans where you can put in through your paycheck to pay for things like daycare or health, you know, health costs, any protected action, you have like a retirement like a 401k, you know, every dollar you're putting into that is $1, you're saving taxes on and then not to mention your employer if they're gonna match a certain percentage of that's like free money. So not only are you you know, saving on taxes, but you're also paying yourself by putting back for retirement. So, to me, that's a really good way to maximize your tax situation.

For anyone that's still waiting on a stimulus check from last year. Do you have any advice for them?

Yes, yes. So let's say last year, you were you know, supposed to get your stimulus in the mail, you even got a letter saying you got your stimulus. And you know, for a fact that you didn't, there's actually a form that we've been filing on the behalf of our taxpayers called a 3911, a 3911. That's a form you can actually find online. They actually released a statement saying by the end of 2022, they should have everything caught up from the last two years. So we're hopeful that that that that happens and are able to do that. But yeah, just be patient.

With the deadline for this year approaching, is there anything else you want to tell folks who might be behind or who are working on meeting that deadline right now?

Surely, well, you know, you can always do an extension and give yourself six months past April 18. But I would say, you know, don't freak out, you know, be patient. Both your tax preparer and the IRS are working as hard as they can to try to have patience, I would say get into a prepare, go ahead and call them and say, Hey, I'm not going to have my stuff to you. So get, you know, get an extension file for me. I would say just relax, be patient. That's probably the biggest thing right now.