Tax Season Starts on 29th Jan : Here is Check List For Your Tax Filing
Published in
4 min readJan 9, 2024
A checklist for tax preparation is the first thing one should consider when you start preparing for tax filing.The IRS has already announced tax seasons start from 29th January 2024, when they start. In this post, you will find a checklist to cruise through this annual ritual smoothly. This will smoothen the process of filing your taxes. Please note that based on the date of your tax return and the kind of tax credits you claim, the date of your tax refund will depend.
The tax filing checklist has been prepared for a broad audience, so some items listed may not apply to your specific tax situation.
Checklist for tax preparation
Personal Information
- ✅Social Security Numbers (SSN) or tax ID numbers
Dependent(s) Information
- ✅ Child-care records, including the child-care provider’s tax ID number (if applicable) and the total fees paid to the provider or babysitter.
- ✅ Form 8332 — (This applies only if you are not your child’s custodial parent.) This form proves the child’s custodial parent releases their right to claim the child as a dependent to you.
Tax checklists for Income Fields in Tax Return
Employment-related
- ✅ Form W-2 — Form you held with a company during the year.
- ✅ Form 1099-G — You’ll receive Form 1099-G if you were unemployed during the year or received a state refund for the previous tax year.
Tax checklist for Self-Employed Income
- ✅ Forms 1099, Schedules K-1, income records to verify amounts not reported on 1099s
- ✅ Records of all expenses — check registers or credit card statements, and receipts
- ✅ Business-use asset information (cost, date placed in service, etc.) for depreciation
- ✅Office in-home information, if applicable
- ✅ Record of estimated tax payments made (Form 1040–ES)
Tax Checklist for Rental Income
- ✅ Up-to-date income and expense records
- ✅ Rental asset information for tracking depreciation
- ✅ Estimated tax payment records
Tax Checklist Retirement Related Data
Only that relates to you
- ✅ Form 1099-R –For any pension, IRA or annuity income.
- ✅ Traditional IRA basis
- ✅ Form SSA-1099 — For any social security benefits received during the year.
Tax checklist for Savings & Investments or Dividends
- ✅ Form 1099-SA — If you use HSA funds during the year, this form reports the distributions you took.
- ✅ Form 1099-LTC is sent to you if you received any long-term care benefits.
- ✅ Form 1099-INT-Interest Income
- ✅ Form 1099-B- Proceeds from broker or barter exchange
- ✅ Form 1099-S Proceeds from real estate transactiobns
- ✅ All investment acquisition dates, along with cost records or another cost basis of the property you sold
- ✅ An up-to-date record of any expenses related to your investments
- ✅ Record of estimated tax payments made to cover the tax bill on the income from those investments
Miscellaneous Income or Losses
- ✅ Form W-2G
- ✅ A detailed record of hobby income and expenses
- ✅ Information on any prizes or awards you received during the tax year
- ✅ Details on Trusts
- ✅ Royalty income 1099-MISC
- ✅ Records of any alimony paid or received
Checklist for Tax Preparation & Claim of deductions
Tax Checklist for Home Ownership
- ✅ Forms 1098 or other mortgage interest statements
- ✅ Real estate and personal property tax records
- ✅ Receipts for energy-saving home improvements (e.g., solar panels, solar water heater)
- ✅ All other 1098 series forms
Charitable Donations
- ✅ Cash amounts donated to houses of worship, schools, and other charitable organizations
- ✅ Records of non-cash charitable donations
- ✅ Amounts of miles driven for charitable or medical purposes
Educational Expenses
- ✅ Forms 1098-T from educational institutions
- ✅ Receipts that itemize qualified educational expenses
- ✅ Records of any scholarships or fellowships you received
- ✅ Form 1098-E if you paid student loan interest
State and Local Taxes
- ✅ Record of the state and local income tax you paid throughout the year
- ✅ Vehicle sales tax invoice, if applicable
- ✅ Record of the amount of sales tax paid during the year
Tax Checklist for Disaster Relief
If you ever lived in a federally declared disaster relief area, you’ll need this information when filing your tax return:
- ✅ Name of the city and county that you worked or owned property in that was declared a disaster area
- ✅ Property loss records (i.e., appraisals, clean-up costs)
- ✅ A detailed list of rebuilding costs
- ✅ Paperwork that supports any insurance reimbursements or claims to be paid
- ✅ FEMA assistance information
Print out this checklist for tax preparation so that the tax filing for the year passes smoothly without any fault.
