The “What to Bring” List for Your Tax Filing Appointment

Janet Behm's
"Real World" Personal Strategy Note
The “What to Bring” List for Your Tax Filing Appointment
“What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork.” - Pearl Bailey

Hey, anybody can just file a tax return – the trick is to file an accurate one. And believe it or not, the filing doesn’t have to be agony if you’re properly prepared (and your tax pro to help you through it).

This year, that might be more important than ever.

And we’re off

Tax season officially began on January 24th and will *end* on April 18th this year.

As I mentioned, there’s a lot to be said for getting your return filed as early as possible. The IRS is behind on processing millions of last year’s returns (we kid you not). Plus, this year you may have to hand in paperwork for the Child Tax Credit, stimulus payments, unemployment benefits, and other potential oddities from the pandemic.

We want you to get everything you have coming (in a good way) under our Tax Code.

Here are the tax documents you need to bring. Not all of them will apply to you – probably MOST will not – but it’s a very useful checklist. Most of these documents will come through the mail or will be made available digitally for you to download.

It’s a long list – it’s the unfortunate reality of our tax code that it's not even comprehensive. But these items will cover 95% of real estate investors.

So, here we go…

Personal
Social Security numbers (including spouse, children, and other dependents)
Residential address(es) for 2021
Childcare provider tax I.D. or Social Security number
Dates of birth
Type of dependent relationship (i.e. son, step-son, grandson, nephew, not related, etc.)
Last year’s or most recent federal and state tax returns (if not on file)

Employment & Income
(many of these documents start with “1099”)
IRS letters showing how much you received in stimulus (Letter 6475)
Advanced Child Tax Credit payments (Letter 6419)
Any other tax credit information for 2021
W-2 forms for this year (“Wage and Tax Statement”)
Tax refunds and unemployment compensation (1099-G, “Certain Government Payments”)
Miscellaneous income including rent (1099-NEC and/or 1099-MISC)
Partnership, S-Corp, and trust income (K-1)
Social Security Benefit Statement (SSA-1099/1042S)
Pensions and annuities, retirement income (1099-R)
Brokerage statements (1099-B)
Alimony received (for divorce settlements executed on Jan 1, 2019, or thereafter)
Jury duty pay
Gambling and lottery winnings (W-2G)
Prizes and awards
Scholarships and fellowships
Cryptocurrency sales (including “coin-to-coin” trades) - report of any crypto activity

Homeowner/Renter Data
Mortgage interest (Form 1098)
Sale of your home or other real estate (Form 1099-S)
Second mortgage interest paid (if you don’t rent that property or rent it only under specific conditions – check with us)
Real estate taxes paid
Rent paid during the tax year
Moving expenses (if active military and moving for new orders)
Reimbursements for moving (counts as ordinary income)
Personal property tax information

Financial Assets
Interest income (1099-INT & 1099-OID)
Dividend and distribution income (1099-DIV)
Proceeds from broker transactions (1099-B)
Capital gains or losses

Financial Liabilities
Auto loans and leases (account numbers and car value) if vehicle used for business
Student loan interest paid
Early withdrawal penalties on certificates of deposit CDs and other fixed time deposits
PPP loan (or multiple PPP loans) – date(s), amount(s) received, and whether or not you've already received forgiveness of the debt(s)
EIDL grant – date and amount received
EIDL loan – date, amount received, and current balance due

Automobiles
Personal property tax information
Department of Motor Vehicles fees

Expenses
Unreimbursed expenses related to volunteer work
Health insurance information (Form 1095-C for Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage)
Investment expenses
Job-hunting expenses
Childcare expenses
Medical savings accounts
Adoption expenses
Department of Motor Vehicles fees

Self-Employment (SE)
Estimated tax vouchers for the current year
Estimated SE tax paid in 2021
SE retirement plans(s) information
SE health insurance premiums
Receipts or documentation for business-related expenses
Farm income

Deductions
Gifts to charity
State and local income taxes
Retirement plan(s) contributions
Medical expenses
Other miscellaneous deductions

Whew! Got all that? Yeah, we know… it’s a lot (maybe more than you need or not enough in some cases), but it’s a great jumping-off point.

And, if you get it together now, you can avoid the torrential downpour of tax season as we get further down the pike. And make all your procrastinator friends jealous of the calm you’ll be enjoying while you sit back and sip on a cold one.

To getting things done sooner rather than later,

BE THE ROAR not the echo®

Janet Behm