I did it! I got our taxes ready for the CPA. I realized because of my foot surgery late January, I was behind my usual timeframe. I also had a hard time focusing. But powering through Friday, Saturday and Sunday — I did it! But now my brain feels like a bowl of mush.
Consequently, there will few words on this post. I’ll rely instead on photos of mostly Red and one of Mrs.
I like the photo above because of the flower. It looks like Red is wearing a fancy head ornament. I’ve had a few close encounters with Red. I call out to him and he doesn’t flit away like normal. I’ve been a few feet away from him as he waits for me to fill the bird feeder.
Red with a House Sparrow.
Red waiting for his turn in the feeder.
Mrs. on the fence.
More Red photos. He hung out last evening right outside the casita.
My goal for 2026 is to be better organized with the taxes. It’s something I could do monthly, to keep track of my husband’s business and rental home expenses, rather than power through 12 months the following year! But I’m already starting out behind the curve, two and half months behind.
Do you have a strategy for preparing taxes that works for you?
If so, please share and give me some tips!
Yay for completed tax prep and beautiful cardinal pics.
Life is good!
Thanks. It’s a huge relief to be done! I normally turn everything in early February, but my surgery threw me for a loop!
I think that you’re on the right track EA- doing a little bit every month. Catch up on the start of 2026 now and you should be all set 🙂
My CFP does my taxes each year. If I had no investments or retirement accounts I could easily do my own but have no clue when it comes to dividends, capital gains, foreign fees, etc, and technically all that has to be accounted for. Plus this year was CO state tax. Never had a state tax before. The forms for that were more and longer than the federal filing. Really though I have very little each year to put together as he has all the info and access to most of it.
Yes, I think you’re correct. A little bit each month and to get caught up on the year is a good idea. I have a lot to put together because my husband works from home and has his own business. We’ve always had state income tax too. I had a CPA I really liked in Palm Springs, but he got very ill and eventually died. Then our next one moved to Portugal. The one we found in Arizona is good. My husband was a W-2 employee for decades and the last two years he’s self employed so it’s more complicated.
Good for you for getting them done, Elizabeth! I too think that I should do a better job all year long — and end up doing it all at once.
Love the photos and your descriptions. Your posts are such a visual treat! Happy Monday!
It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who puts off organizing taxes to the end! I’m so glad you enjoy my photos. I had such a connection to Red this weekend.
Whenever a tax form arrives (or I retrieve it electronically), I put it in a large envelope marked “taxes”. When I have it all, I take it to our accountant and say “here, call us when it is ready”. He does, and automatically electronic files, and I then pay him. Been working that way for years.
I’ve had to go through my husband’s and my expenses related to business. Then go through what his company reimburses him and cross those expenses off the list. It’s something I should do each month. At least that’s what I’ve said for years! I have a folder for the incoming tax documents, much like your envelope.
Red looks menacing with his stance against the sparrow! Maybe there is a larger version of that feeder, the Mourning Dove is huge in the feeder. Mr’s Red is very pretty! And taxes? I think I already mentioned that I must have my tax guy do this for me, my math sucks. 😂🤭
I’m glad you enjoy the photos. The Bird Buddy people have an extender to allow the bigger birds more room. Someday I may order one. We have a tax guy too, but I have to go through every bank account, credit card account, find expenses plus total up all our utilities, etc. for my husband’s business. The tax guy won’t do that. I need to have a better system and not do it once a year.
That sounds like detail oriented work! Kind of like when my editor sends me the pdf file of my next novel and asks me to recheck the changes by page number and paragraph, just one more time. Finished! I’ll let you know when it comes out!
It’s a very detailed and lengthy chore. I’m so glad to have it behind me, but I need to start on 2026! Please let me know when book 2 comes out!
I will! Thanks for asking!
😊
Yeah, I hate tax time. I was able to do my own the last couple of years but this year with Bill’s mom passing and the trust, etc. I’m going to let the real pro do it.
I put in a lot of hours going through my husband’s business expenses for write offs. When he was a W2 employee it wasn’t as difficult. Yes, it sounds like a good year for you to hire a pro. My files are all uploaded to our pro but I had to do all the prep work.
Joyful bird photos. Lovely.
I’m so glad you enjoy them. Taking the photos and uploading them in Adobe Bridge is so relaxing for me!
Red is stealing the show. It’s my favorite, although I love the quails too.
Your taxes sound a bit complicated. I’m assuming you’ve created some kind of spreadsheet or are using software to compile all that data. My taxes are easy, but we run a tight budget that I review monthly by going through our bank accounts, investments, and so on.
If there are a lot of transactions each week, I’d probably review them weekly if I were you. If not, then biweekly for sure, just to keep things manageable. I think even monthly might be too late, and I can’t imagine doing a year’s worth of work right before tax day.
I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to tracking things, so I’d probably come up with a system to gather weekly expenses, payments, and so on, something you can do in less than an hour each week and call it a day. A spreadsheet or some software would definitely help organize your end of year data for your CPA.
I like all your advice. I actually do the work once a year with a legal pad and pencil categorizing expenses. Then I use a calculator with tape to run through the numbers. Yes, a spreadsheet would make more sense! Weekly or bi-weekly makes more sense than a big chore each month or at the start of the new year!
Absolutely. I would probably use an inexpensive accordion file organizer, labeling it with weekly or bi-weekly tabs so receipts and other items can be stored. Then, I’d use a simple Excel spreadsheet, or Numbers if you are an Apple user, for the accounting. Both are cloud based now and you can use the phone if necessary.
More good suggestions. I do have Numbers and an accordion file. Now I need to avoid the excuses and work on it!
Awesome! You’ve got this. 💪🏼👍🏼
👍🏼
Ugh, taxes. I’ll be doing our again this year, but with TurboTax this time. A couple years ago I just downloaded the forms from the IRS. I keep the checkbook up to date for our LLC (rental property). I had to do that tax return earlier (manually). I still have to do my summary for my schedule C. I am not looking forward to doing the 1040!! I keep everything pertaining to the return in one folder all year.
I wouldn’t have the nerve to prepare my taxes with TurboTax or by myself. It’s enough of a chore to gather the information for the CPA. After having a huge headache with a tenant this year, we’re setting up an LLC. That’s a smart way to handle a rental property. I’m impressed you do this all yourself!
Putting my accounting degree and decades of experience to use! (Though I’d rather not. Why can’t Americans do taxes easy, like the rest of the world?)
I am so impressed. Accounting and decades of experience? That’s way out of my skill set. I agree that our taxes should be so much easier. We have a whole industry that doesn’t need to exist because of our tax code.