Week 8: Organize Your Receipts and Taxes

This week's goals:

Gather up all of your loose receipts. Sort them into piles:

-Check card/ATM receipts

-Credit card receipts

-Receipts already recorded

-Tax deductible receipts

-Work related reimbursement

-Gift receipts

-Receipts of major purchases

Organize your tax papers by category such as:

-Income: pay stubs, W-2 and 1099 forms, proof of rental income, interest statements, and dividend statements

-Proof of expenses: credit card statements, bank statements, receipts

-Medical: include out of pocket expenses

-Donations: receipts for cash or non-cash donations

-Child care costs

-Real estate: interest statements from mortgage, tax assessments

-Tax correspondences: important letters from the IRS or your state revenue service

-Student loans: statements of loan interest paid

-Miscellaneous receipts: anything that might be needed for a deduction

Record the check card/ATM receipts in your checkbook ledger.

Take work-related receipts to work and file an expense report.

Put rebate receipts in your daily planner and place them on your to do list.

If you are trying to create a budget or track your expenses, sort your recorded check card and cash receipts by category, then record the amounts on your computer or in a notebook. Examples could be:

Food/groceries

Gas

Entertainment

Gifts

Clothes

After you record the amounts, you can toss the receipts. If you are not tracking your expenses, go ahead and toss the receipts.

Set up a small accordion file to organize the rest.

Tips:

Start a new habit: Clean the receipts out of your wallet or purse every week. Record any check card purchases in your checkbook ledger. Then toss or file the receipts. Place receipts that require action on your to do list. This will probably take less than 15 minutes. You'll also be albe to find a receipt when you need it, and you won't miss out on a rebate or return.

Keep a zippered pouch inside your purse for receipts.

Stay Organized!

Once a Month:

Remove all receipts from your purse or wallet and sort and file.

Toss all ATM withdrawal and bank deposit slips after you have recorded and checked them against your monthly statement.

Toss all credit card receipts after you have matched them to the statement.

Toss receipts from small purchases.

Every 3-6 Months:

Toss all gift receipts from any gifts you gave more than three months ago.

Once a Year:

Purge your everyday files of receipts from the previous tax year.