April 15th is fast approaching so it’s never been a better time to get all your tax documents together. Whether you’re filing online (with services like TurboTax and H&R Block At Home) or hiring it out, consider using your credit card to pay for tax services, which could make things so much easier.
Use your end of year statement:
With your Discover credit card you will find a year-end statement that includes all your purchases and breaks it down by category. This is extremely helpful for finding the items that you can use as tax deductions.
Organize it all:
Be sure you have up-to-date forms from employers, including documentation of all forms of taxable income (dividends, business income, capital gains, selling your home, rental income, etc.).
Standard Vs. Itemizing:
Before you really get started it’s best to do a quick run through to see if you will be able to itemize or if the standard deduction will save you the most. Typically if you have a mortgage, student loans, and children there is a good chance you’ll want to itemize. Standard deductions vary based on your filing status.
Deductions vs. Credits:
Knowing the difference between deductions and credits is a huge help. Deductions are items that reduce your taxable income and are based on your earnings (with caps on deductions at higher income levels), while credits reduce your tax liability. Both decrease what you owe in taxes – tax credits do this more directly. Tax deductions include those that require itemization and those that do not. This can include charitable donations, moving expenses, college tuition and more. Some tax credits include earned income credit, child tax credit, retirement savings credit, among others.
Get Help When You Need It:
The IRS has resources and instructions available online and are also available via phone with questions you may have. Often the complexities of the tax code overwhelm us, but the IRS is there to help.
Earn While You File:
You can save money by purchasing the software tools through ShopDiscover.com, Discover’s exclusive online shopping portal for cardmembers. Discover cardmembers can earn 20% Cashback Bonus on H&R Block At Home purchases, and 15% Cashback Bonus on TurboTax purchases.
For example, the H&R Block Deluxe tax filing program retails for $29.99. By purchasing with your Discover card through the ShopDiscover portal, you can earn $6 Cashback Bonus, just for shopping online!
Have you filed taxes yet?
Kelly
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Discover as part of the Discover Preferred Blogger Network. All opinions are my own.
