Won't guarantee that yet, but there's a chance!
If procrastination kills, I should have been dead a long time ago. 😉 Fortunately my family, business associates, and friends have been very helpful. They've tracked down checks, organized donations, reproduced bank statements, and even offered to help with partnership returns (I'll have two for 2006, three for 2007).
Having one or more side businesses adds a lot of stress around tax time, especially if you're not especially organized yet, like myself. The reason is that there's a lot of recordkeeping that should get done during the year, but may not without a tendency to pay attention to detail. When tax time rolls around, though, you not only have to file the taxes, but do all of the background work that was lacking. Doing it after the fact always takes more time than doing it throughout the year — and the one thing you don't have in late March and early April is time!
I hadn't ever filed an extension before 2004, but I started filing extensions with my 2004 return, and that was the same year that a friend and I formed a business partnership. It's taken a couple of years to finally get some semblance of order into the partnership, but it's not quite there yet, even now. Since my business partner does most of the actual work in the business, I organize the finances for my part.
The one silver lining in all of this is that this year is a heck of a lot easier around than the first time around. I suppose that's called “learning things the hard way” but it's better than not learning things at all.
Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better! 😉
File Boxes – the kind you can get anywhere. Get one for each area of your financial life (i.e. partnership 1, household, business 1, partnership 2). Then throughout the year as things happen – just put the receipt or bill in the appropriate box.
This will not be the best "accounting" method, but I find it helps people gather their info faster. It's all in one place and only needs to be separated and categorized.
I would also recommend keeping them in an easy access place. If possible where the lids could stay open the majority of the time. I find, less work, means easier follow through.
Hope this idea helps.
Haha. That's awesome. I did my taxes the day I got my last W2. I think it was temporary insanity but it worked out in my favor 🙂
D, I've started putting things in a file folder system, though it wasn't much help for 2006. It will help a lot more for 2007. This and getting access to the financial statements myself online (before it was only my business partner who received and collected the stuff) so I'll be able to file things myself.
Henry, that was the smart thing to do! I don't know why I postpone my refund.
Congrats, I always put mine off as well. Of course, I'll owe money so not such a big deal to wait.