We are a little over two weeks away from tax day. If you haven’t already filed your taxes for 2018, you should probably get started this weekend. (For the record, I filed mine almost two weeks ago. My state refund is already in the bank.)

With the major changes in the tax law beginning this year, you can’t assume that you’ll be able to do everything as quickly as you did it in the past. And if you decide that you will need professional assistance, appointments will be very hard to get.

Here are my hints for getting a good start on your taxes:

• Make sure that you have all relevant documentation handy before you start. Gather your W-2s, your 1098s and 1099s, brokerage statements, business reports, etc.
• If you are going to itemize, you’ll need the total of your charitable donations, any casualty or theft losses, etc. (The higher standard deduction coupled with the limit on the deduction for state and local taxes means that fewer people will need to itemize.
• Set aside a block of time and a quiet place to work. You may need to do some calculations, so a printer, paper, pencils, and a calculator are handy.
• I always complete my forms and then set them aside for a day or so before reviewing them and sending them in. Just often enough, I catch something I missed on the first go-round.
• If you are due a refund, submit your return as quickly as possible. Having it deposited electronically is the fastest way to go.
• If you owe money, you don’t need to submit until April 15th. I like to submit at least a day early in case of unforeseen issues.
• If you owe more than you can pay, submit your return and call the IRS immediately and ask them to work with you on a payment plan. Ignoring this problem won’t make it go away and the consequences can be severe. But NEVER pay someone to “make your IRS debt go away.” That’s a big ol’ scam. The ones that are legitimate aren’t doing anything you can’t do for yourself.
• Once you’ve filed, make copies of you return and file your documentation. You must hold on to it for at least seven years.

Next month, we’ll do some posts on organizing your finances to make next year’s taxes easier and to keep things in good order.