Financial Advice You Need To Know Before Taxes Are Due
With our tax day right around the corner, it’s no surprise that we reached out to our friends at Ironwood financial for some tips, tricks, and advice on what to know before we file for the 2020 tax year. We are truly lucky to have scouted members like these ones in our lives! If you are in need of any financial services, you know who to turn to! Ironwood Financial!
And now for advice from Certified Financial Planner Robin Dolezal!
TSG Tucson: What is the #1 tip people should apply when getting ready for tax season?
Robin: For 2020, if you received any stimulus from the government, make sure you figure out how much that was in total. The government is not issuing end of year documents that illustrate that for you, but they definitely want to know what that number is when you file your taxes. If you received stimulus that you didn’t account for on your taxes, you could very well trigger and IRS Audit and need to refile.
Generally speaking, gather all of your tax documents and deductions before filing. There is nothing more aggravating than filing your taxes to learn you left something out after the fact. A perfect example of that are charitable deductions. Often times, filers, will use various accounts to gift, whether is a check, credit card, etc. Make sure to check all your accounts before finishing that exercise.
TSG Tucson: Do you have one piece of advice you tell all of your clients no matter what their financial circumstance?
Robin: In general, the household budget tends to be the trickiest piece to nail down. We’ve heard countless times when one spouse says the family spends “X” and the other spouse says their budget is twice that. If you don’t know what you are truly spending each month (or year), planning for retirement is extremely difficult. It also makes creating a savings plan difficult, in that you may be spending more than you anticipated, and be forced to claw back savings. Having a defined budget lets you know if you are on track for the month and illustrates if you’ve spent more than usual or if you have some room for discretionary items or savings.
