| Chewed-on pencils, crumpled-up pieces of paper, | | | | $3087 instead of $3807). |
| worn-down erasers, and your hair standing on end | | | | The second most common mistake is one that costs |
| from running your hands through it in frustration, what | | | | many people: overlooking deductions. Even though it's |
| do these all mean? Why, of course! You're doing your | | | | much simpler to take the standard deduction, it's |
| taxes! | | | | almost always better to itemize. The GAO estimates |
| It's an annual ritual that bonds Americans as truly as | | | | that every year, more than 2 million taxpayers |
| fireworks and complaining about our mothers-in-law: | | | | overpay because they fail to do this. Because there is |
| tax time. As April 15th draws near, tempers grow | | | | such a long and varying list of possible deductions, |
| short and time seems to speed up. A contest brews | | | | including job search expenses, volunteer work |
| between two worries: that you'll make a mistake that | | | | expenses and gambling losses, this is where it's |
| will bring the scrutiny of the IRS upon your finances, or | | | | easiest to get lost within the tax codes. It's also where |
| that you'll overlook deductions that could have kept | | | | some professional help with your Naperville tax |
| more money in your own pocket. | | | | preparation can come in handiest. Your tax advisor |
| How to ease the frustrations? First, make sure you | | | | can go through all your expenses with you and may |
| avoid the most common taxpayer mistakes. Even if | | | | well find deductions that didn't occur to you. Additionally, |
| you have found an accounting firm in Naperville to | | | | a good advisor will guide you to future money |
| advise you, it is possible to overlook things. A recent | | | | decisions to help lighten your tax load in subsequent |
| study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) | | | | years. |
| discovered errors even on most returns completed by | | | | Even if you do utilize tax preparation software or an |
| paid tax preparers. These errors can be quite costly to | | | | accountant, keeping good records is up to you. Here is |
| fix. Thus, it's important for each taxpayer to know the | | | | where many Americans make a third mistake: |
| most common mistakes in order to avoid them. | | | | forgetting all about taxes once April 15th has passed. |
| The number one mistake is the easiest to correct: | | | | Something as simple as a shoebox or a drawer for |
| math errors. Too many bleary-eyed nights can lead to | | | | receipts, health bills and donations can assist greatly in |
| adding when you should subtract or copying numbers | | | | the next year's filing. |
| wrong. This can be fixed by utilizing tax preparation | | | | Avoid these common mistakes and you may avoid |
| software. Also, always double-check your entries, for | | | | the hair-pulling and teeth-gnashing when next April rolls |
| it's easy to transpose numbers (for example, putting | | | | around! |