Submitted by PeachyQuiinn t3_11b5djv in LifeProTips
I heard somewhere that you should save every single receipt of every expense you ever have (i.e. restaurants, groceries, clothes, etc). Last year I saved only medical, cell phone, house improvement receipts, and auto. But my tax preparer didn’t really ask to see any of the receipts, just to tell them an estimate of how much it was.
So, what receipts should I keep or what kind of expenses/income should I write down for next year. I was thinking about starting a spreadsheet summarizing every single expense I have every month so I can just give that to them and they can report accordingly.
And how detailed should I write down each expense? Last year I had my basement completely renovated and only had receipts from hardware stores and labor but they asked how much were the doors, how much was the flooring, insulation, walls, counters, appliances, etc. all individually. I was like idk I just know all these receipts were from basement expenses!
TLDR; what receipts and/or documents should I have ready to get the best refund next year’s tax season?
madoneforever t1_j9w2ng2 wrote
Learning how taxes work is important. This is a very in-depth topic and can change annually depending on the current tax law. I would suggest first checking and seeing if a standard deduction makes the most sense for you. If you have property, assets or major medical expenses look up the rules for each type of asset you have and the current rules for medical deductions. Once you figure out your deductions, change your tax withdrawals so that your net taxes owed is close to zero. I.e. no refund. Instead put any extra money into savings or invest it.