For many, mid April is a dreaded time of year - Tax Time. It does not have to be! With some simple strategies and organizing processes, you can be ready every year headache free!

Having everything in order for those conversations with your accountant, business partner or spouse can make or break your stress level. If this year has been a breeze and you want to make it go even easier; or if you are still struggling to find the right documentation in the piles on your desk (it is there somewhere!), consider choosing a new path for next year.

Begin with a Spring Clean Out

Once you have conducted your taxes for the year, you can safely get rid numerous pieces of paper that could your office or storage space. Clearing out the clutter will make organizing your personal and financial records a whole lot easier.

Grocery receipts and other nondeductible expense receipts and statements can be destroyed after they have been recorded for budgeting purposes.

If your credit card company provides year end reporting - and many of them do now, you can destroy your monthly statements and file your annual statement in your tax records.

Do you invest? You do don't need to save every monthly statement. Ultimately, the accounting you get from the fund at the end of the year shows all of your transactions, rendering the previous statements unnecessary from a tax standpoint. So you can destroy the interim statements and still have all of the information needed to calculate your cost basis in the fund no matter how far into the future you sell.

Get rid of old mailing envelopes and deposit tickets. Many fund firms change transfer agents or create new account numbers.

Purge your files of old prospectuses, too, but keep the latest version of the prospectus and annual report.

Filing System for the Upcoming Year

Whether you do your own taxes or go to a pro, rounding up the information and paperwork you need can be a painful process. Build a filing system that has a place for every type of document that you need to take to your accountant. Make sure that you are putting appropriate papers in the files throughout the year so that you do not have to search for them later. Don't know where to start? Our TaxCase can help. It's an easy system for organizing, tracking and storing everything you need at tax time.

Review Your W-4
In addition to getting your documentation systems organized, consider looking at your W-4 forms to make sure they are accurate. Many workers will fill out their W-4 forms when they first start employment and then never revisit the election.

"Taxpayers overpaid their federal income taxes by a record 29% in both 2003 and 2004," according to a USA TODAY analysis of Internal Revenue Service data.

By having large refunds at the end of the year, you are loaning the government your money interest free during the year. There is an alternative! The IRS has a withholding calculator on it's website.

"The purpose of this application is to help employees to ensure that they do not have too much or too little income tax withheld from their pay. It is not a replacement for Form W-4, but most people will find it more accurate and easier to use than the worksheets that accompany Form W-4. You may use the results of this program to help you complete a new Form W-4, which you will submit to your employer."

You'll find it at: http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96196,00.html

To your success!

Stephanie L. H. Calahan is a Productivity & Organization Consultant and Coach, Speaker, Author and founder of Calahan Solutions, Inc.  Her organizing expertise, Computer Science and HR backgrounds give her a unique perspective on what works at work. Visit http://www.calahansolutions.com to sign up for your monthly “Organizing Solutions!” newsletter and get 2 FREE reports, find great organizing products and more! You may contact Stephanie at questions@calahansolutions.com or 309.825.7833.