Mid-year tax checklist to ensure you’re ready for tax season 2019

It’s summertime! You may be in the midst of your summer fun and family vacation, but taking time for a mid-year tax check-up could save you time and headaches come end of year.   Personal and financial events, such as getting married, sending a child to college, or retiring, happen throughout the year and can have a big impact on your taxes. If you wait until the end of the year or next spring to factor those changes into your tax planning, it might be too late.

Procrastinating on tax planning can lead to missing out on opportunities to reduce your taxes and avoid certain penalties.  This quick checklist can get you started to thinking of what you need to do soon to prepare for the upcoming tax season.
Need to know more about how to prepare for these life events when it comes to taxes, give our office a call!

Assess your 2019 tax events:

• Did you get married, get divorced, or become widowed?
• Did you change jobs or has your spouse started working?
• Did you have an increase or decrease in income?
• Did you have a substantial gain from the sale of stocks or bonds?
• Did you buy or sell a rental?
• Did you start, acquire, or sell a business?
• Did you buy or sell a home?
• Did you retire this year?
• Are you on track to withdraw the required amount from your IRA (age 70.5 or older)?
• Are you taking advantage of the IRA-to-charity transfers (age 70.5 or older)?
• Did you refinance your home or take out a second home mortgage this year?
• Were you the beneficiary of an inheritance this year?
• Did you welcome a new child into your family?
• Have you signed up for a tax-advantaged educational savings plan!
• Are you taking full advantage of retirement savings plans?
• Have you made any significant equipment purchases for your business?
• Are you planning to purchase a new car for your business or sell the old one?
• Are you planning on making any charitable contributions?
• Are you paying college tuition for yourself, your spouse or dependent(s)?
• Are you keeping up with your estimated tax payments or do they need adjusting?
• Do you have substantial investment income or gains from the sale of investment assets?
• Did you make any unplanned withdrawals from an IRA or pension plan?
• Are you saving as much as you can in tax-advantaged accounts?
• If you are a business owner, do you need to change how the business is organized to take full advantage of the 20% of qualified business income deduction?

If you anticipate or have already encountered any of the above events in your life, it may be time to schedule a mid-year tax checkup and consult with the tax experts at Jeanine Hemingway, CPA.   We look forward to helping you as you encounter some of these life events that can have an impact on your tax implications.