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Show New Year planning Businesses should act now for 1988 record keeping By KENNETH J. ROSE Business Counselor Rose & Associates Bountiful The year 1987 is over, and so is the time for 1987 tax planning. The only thing left is to make sure that you don't miss any of the deductions that are available to you as you prepare your return. The 1986 Tax Reform Act will send more people to professional tax preparers than ever before. It has given us one of the most comprehensive tax laws that we have ever had. Many of the seasonal tax preparers are not doing tax work anymore, simply because the laws are getting too complicated for them. Now would be a good time to follow up on that New Year's resolution about doing your tax return early. The earlier you get your records together and to your tax preparer, the sooner you will have it out of the way. Just because you have the return prepared early, doesn't mean that you have to file it early. Of course, if you have a refund coming, you will want to file it as soon as possible. If you have to pay additional taxes you will want to wait until closer to the filing deadline. Organizing your records is essential to early preparation of your return. Most good tax preparers use a checklist to give to their clients. A checklist minimizes the chance of either the JN taxpayer forgetting to tell the preparer about something or of the ' w preparer forgetting to ask about it. Organize your supporting information by some general categories. cate-gories. Put all of your income items together and all of your deductions together. For some of these, you might have to wait for .W-2's and 1099's for wage, miscellaneous, and interest income. If you have special income or loss information, such as a business, rental properties or investment transactions, those should be separated, too. Good records will assure that an accurate tax return is prepared, while poor records will almost guarantee that more taxes will be paid than necessary. Now is an excellent time to set up your record system for 1988. Do it early and you will find it easier to keep it up as you go. There will be less work to do at the end of the year. Start your tax planning for 1988 early, and you will be pleasantly rewarded for your efforts. If you have questions, contact your tax advisor or business counselor. I 1 |