Every year, tax day sneaks up in a hurry. Whether you use tax preparation software or outsource to a certified…
Every year, tax day sneaks up in a hurry. Whether you use tax preparation software or outsource to a certified public accountant, here are some key strategies to ensure a smooth and worry-free tax season.
Strategy 1: Use a tax checklist or organizer
Using a tax checklist or organizer can help you avoid that paper chase and assemble all the key documents in advance; completing your return is then a matter of filling in data. Tax checklists abound online.
If you use an accountant, it’s a good bet they send you a tax organizer, either paper or digital; such forms often come prepopulated with your tax data from the previous year. It’s a handy way to track trends in your income, interest earned on your investments, and charitable giving.
Strategy 2: Determine if you’ll be itemizing or taking the standard deduction
If you employ a tax advisor, they may have provided some guidance on whether to itemize based on your 2024 return. If you do your own taxes, you can get a pretty clear view of whether to use the standard deduction by taking stock of the major deductible items.
For the 2025 tax year, itemizing could be worthwhile if your deductions are greater than the standard deduction of $15,750 for single taxpayers and $31,500 for married couples filing jointly. People over 65 can take advantage of a new senior deduction of $6,000 that’s available to both itemizers and non-itemizers. (It’s $12,000 for married couples filing jointly if both partners are over 65.) However, the deduction phases out at modified adjusted gross incomes of more than $75,000 for singles and double that amount for married couples filing jointly.
For most households, the biggest-ticket deductible items include state and local taxes (including property taxes), home mortgage interest, and medical expenditures in excess of 7.5% of adjusted gross income. The good news on the state and local tax deduction is that the maximum deductible amount jumped from $10,000 to $40,000 following the passage of the tax and domestic policy bill last year. Here again, income limits apply: The higher deduction amount phases out for people with modified adjusted gross incomes of more than $500,000, and people with MAGI over $600,000 are stuck with a cap of $10,000 on the amount of state and local taxes that are deductible.
If you decide to itemize, you’ll need to round up supporting documentation on your deductible expenses. If you can’t track down all the receipts, don’t despair. The previous year’s credit card statements can help you identify those expenses. Healthcare providers and pharmacies are also usually happy to prepare a year-end statement documenting your out-of-pocket outlays over the previous year.
Strategy 3: Round up your investment documentation
By now you’ve probably received your W-2s and 1099s, which report various types of income. Investment firms typically maintain “tax centers” where you can download or print forms. Take a moment to see if you can learn anything from that 1099 that might help you improve your portfolio. For example, if you owe significant capital gains taxes and you haven’t sold anything, that’s a red flag that you should pay closer attention to “asset location”—housing tax-efficient assets like equity exchange-traded funds in your taxable brokerage account.
Strategy 4: Make your contributions as soon as possible
Your deadline for contributing to an IRA or health savings account is the same as your tax-filing deadline. But if you want to deduct that contribution on your tax return, you’ll need to make it before you file your return. Ditto if you’re taking advantage of the Saver’s Credit. Note that these deductions are available whether you itemize or not. However, you can’t make an IRA contribution unless you have earned income. You can’t make an HSA contribution unless you’re covered by a qualifying high-deductible healthcare plan; an HSA is also off-limits if you’re covered by Medicare.
Some investors wait to make those contributions because they want to see what their tax bills are first. If that describes your situation, consider an automatic investment program for your future IRA contributions so you’re not at the mercy of your tax bill each year. For the 2026 tax year, investors under age 50 can hit their full $7,500 maximum IRA contribution by putting in $625 a month; those over 50 can max out with a $716 monthly contribution.
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This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance.
Christine Benz is director of personal finance and retirement planning for Morningstar and co-host of The Long View podcast.
Related Links
https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance/morningstars-tax-planning-ira-resources-2026
https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance/how-much-taxes-is-taken-out-your-paycheck
https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance/are-you-ready-tax-day-heres-what-you-need-know-before-you-file-2
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