GILBERT, Ariz. - Tax season is here, and if you haven't already started gathering your documents, now is the time to do it before it's too late.
The IRS will receive millions of individual tax returns this season, and you want to make sure your return maximizes your hard earned cash.
In CPA Kevin Johnson's tax book of tricks, he says start simple by gathering all of the documents you need.
"It's never too soon to plan," Johnson said. "We ask for the prior year tax return because there's some carry over information possibly there."
Johnson recommends knowing your basic personal information, then gather source documents like W-2's and 1099's. If you itemize deductions, you'll need to know totals for things like medical out of pocket, auto registration and charitable contributions.
If you don't know where to start, Johnson says the worksheets can be found online.
"Under our website and our resources forms, we have schedule A for itemized deductions, and we have schedule C if you have a business," Johnson said.
As for tax changes in 2017, Johnson says there aren't too many.
"There were some deductions that were repealed that aren't back in 2017," he said.
So mortgage insurance and the tuition and fees deduction are no more, Johnson said. But 2018 is a whole different story.
"I've been a CPA since '05 and this is probably the biggest change that I've seen," he said.
The tax rates dropped a couple of points and tax brackets are expanding, taxing more of your income at a lower rate. Deduction for taxes if you itemize will also be limited to $10,000, possibly making those charitable contributions in Arizona even more important.
"That charitable contribution is deducted as a charity which isn't subject to that $10,000 limit," Johnson said.
And finally, Johnson says if you plan to go the CPA route before April schedule soon, before they book up.
Good news this year, you have a little extra time to file if you're a procrastinator. The IRS changed the deadline to April 17, 2018, because the traditional date of April 15 falls on a Sunday.