Imagine missing out on a $6,000 tax refund! (Or worse, having to pay an extra $10,000 that you didn’t know about.)
These are real-life anecdotes from Financial Zen World last year. So this year we’re taking a more deliberate approach to your 2023 tax return.
Financial services companies have to release your finalized 1099 by February 15th every year, so it’s time to get started.
Here’s a checklist for your 2023 tax return:
1099’s (BANK, TAXABLE BROKERAGE and HSA’s)
You should have one per financial institution (and possibly one per account). You will NOT receive a 1099 for your retirement accounts (401k or IRA’s) if you didn’t take money out during the year.
W2 (ONE FOR EACH EMPLOYER)
It doesn’t hurt to double check your W2 for accuracy. It’s correct 99% of the time, but if HR got it wrong it’s easier to fix BEFORE you file.
1098 (MORTGAGE INTEREST)
If you have a mortgage, you’ll get a Form 1098 to help determine if you should itemize deductions or just take the standard deduction.
This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list. It’s just the list that pertains to almost all of us. So work with your tax preparer to ensure you sent them over everything.
PRO TIP: What we find helpful for our FZ Members is to pull out their net worth statement and cross off each account as you save your tax docs to your tax return folder.
