Stay in the Good Graces of the IRS All Year Round

Research Recommendations

When tax time rolls around, nobodywants to have their stomach tied up inknots. So to take nervousness out of theequation, offers the following ways to avoid misstepswith the IRS throughout the year:

•First and foremost, you need to be surethat you file your paperwork on time and hitevery deadline. This will help you avoid anunneeded scrutiny from Uncle Sam.

•Adopt a system of keeping meticulousrecords of your tax deductions in a dailytax diary, and employ an organized filingsystem for such documents as receipts andcanceled checks. Another key way to keeporganized is to use a separate credit cardfor your business expenses.

Remember:

•Don't put the entire burden of yourtax responsibilities on your accountant. Itdoesn't make financial sense to pay anaccountant to endlessly wade throughyour receipts. That's something you couldeasily do yourself, if you put the aforementionedorganization system in place. If your tax-preparer makes a mistake,the blame still falls on your shoulders.