Jeffrey L. Jackson, CPA LLC
Certified Public Accountant
How to Prepare for your Tax Appointment
Collect Your Records
Collecting and organizing your tax records is key to having a successful tax appointment. It's a good practice to review your prior year tax return and compare it to your current year documents. Often, taxpayers have similar income and deductions from year-to-year and doing a review will help identify missing documents.
For New Clients
If you are a new client, there are certain documents that you will need for the appointment. Some of these documents will help us understand your tax situation while others will help reduce tax identity theft and improve return preparation. Please bring the following documents to your appointment:
| Document | Purpose |
| 1. Prior Year Tax Returns (Federal & State) | Needed to help us understand you as a taxpayer. The prior year returns may also contain information needed for the current year tax return. |
| 2. Social Security Card for each person claimed on the return. | Will reduce the likelihood of name and SSN input errors. Will also reduce the likelihood of tax identity theft. |
| 3. Driver's License for Taxpayer (and spouse, if married) | Needed to verify your identity as required by some state. Will help reduce tax identity theft and name input errors. |
| 4. Canceled Check for refund direct deposit or payment direct debit. | Needed to verify your bank name, account and routing number. |
All Clients - New & Existing
Tax Organizer & Questionnaire
Please complete
our secure online
Tax
Organizer. The organizer will ask you
questions and allow you to enter information needed to prepare
your taxes. The organizer also allows you to upload tax
documents to us so we can get started prior to your appointment.
Please review the lists below for tax forms and other documents which may be needed for your tax preparation.
Tax Forms
During January and early February, taxpayers
tax documents from third parties -- employers,
mortgage company, banks, etc. These documents
will be needed for your tax preparation. A best practice
is to place these documents in your "Income Tax File" (a folder) and bring
to the appointment..
The following is a partial list of forms. The forms you receive depend upon your specific situation.
| Tax Form | Description |
| W-2 | Wage and Income Report |
| 1099-Misc | Miscellaneous Income (typically for self-employment income, prizes/awards or rentals) |
| 1099-Int | Interest Income |
| 1099-Div | Dividend Income |
| 1099-A | Acquisition or Abandonment of Secured Property |
| 1099-B | Brokerage Statement |
| 1099-C | Cancellation of Debt |
| 1099-G | State Tax Refund and/or Unemployment Compensation |
| 1099-Q | Distributions from Qualified Education Programs |
| 1099-R | Distributions from Pension, Retirement, IRA, and Insurance Contracts |
| 1099-SA | Distributions from HA, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage |
| SSA-1099 | Social Security Income |
| 1098 | Mortgage Interest Statement |
| 1098-T | Tuition Statement for college expenses |
| 1095 A, B or C | Health Insurance coverage forms |
| 5498 | IRA Contribution Information |
| 5498-SA | HSA, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA Information |
| Schedule K-1 | Shareholder's or Partner's Share of Income, Deductions, Credits |
Other Documents & Information
There may be other information needed for your return
preparation. For example:
| Situation | What to Bring |
| Child or Dependent Care | Provider name, address, SSN/EIN, and amount paid. |
| Purchase, Sale, or Re-finance a home or real estate | Closing Statement or Closing Disclosure (formerly HUD-1). If you sold your principal residence, please bring closing statements from original purchase and from sale. |
| Charitable Donations | Receipts or other documents to support the amounts donated to each charitable organization. |
| Non-Cash Charitable Donations | Receipts or other documents to support the amounts donated to each charitable organization. Information needed includes: charity name & address, description of items donated, date donated, value when donated, and value when acquired. |
| Charitable Miles Driven | Total number of charitable miles driven during the year. |
| Real Estate Taxes Paid | Amount may be listed on Form 1098. If not, a cancelled check or receipt from the tax office. |
| Property Taxes Paid | Also known as Ad Valorem. These amounts are typically listed on the tag receipts for Car, Trucks, Motorcycles, Boats, Planes, etc. |
| Vehicle Title Ad Valorem Sales Tax | Bill of sale (if purchased from a dealer), cancelled check, and/or receipt from the county tax office. |
| Estimated Tax Payments | Cancelled check and/or a listing of dates and amounts paid to the IRS or state department of revenue. |
| State Tax Payments for Prior Year Taxes | Cancelled check and or a listing of dates and amounts paid to the state department of revenue. |
| Medical Expenses Paid | A summary listing the total amount of unreimbursed medical expenses by type of expense: Doctor, Prescription, Dental, Glasses, Insurance. |
| Medical Miles Driven | Total number of miles driven for medical care. |
| Student loan interest payments | Form 1098-E |
| Educator Expenses | The total amount of unreimbursed expenses (applies to K-12 teachers). |
| Alimony Received or Paid | Total amount of alimony paid or received. The SSN or ITIN of the ex-spouse. |
| IRA and Roth IRA Contributions | The amount and date of any contribution. |
| Gambling Winnings & Losses | W-2G and/or a listing of amounts won and amounts lost. |
| Moving Expenses | A listing of the costs to transport household items and people from old residence to new residence. May include lodging, miles driven, gas, van rental, and moving company. The amount paid or reimbursed by an employer, if any. |
| Sale of Stocks, Bonds, Investments | Description of the item sold including date sold, sale price date purchased, and cost basis. This information may, or may not, be listed on a 1099-B. |
| Driver's Education for Child | Certificate from driver's education school and amount paid. (Georgia only) |
| Higher Education Expenses | Description of items & amounts paid during the year for tuition, books, fees, room and board. |
Sole-Proprietor Business & Rentals
If you have a small business operated as a Sole-Proprietor or if
you have one or more rental properties, you will need to provide
certain information relating to the business activity. Please
review the following list:
| Income Statement and/or completed worksheet |
Click for
worksheet - Schedule C Click for worksheet - Rental |
| Listing of asset(s) purchased during the year | Click for worksheet |
| Prior year depreciation schedule. | (May be in the prior year tax return.) |
| Purchase, sale or refinance of real estate | Closing statement Closing Disclosure (formerly HUD-1) |
| # of days rented. # of days of personal use | (Rental property only) |
If you have any questions regarding the documents to bring to your tax appointment, please give us a call at (678) 919-1250.
Jeffrey L Jackson CPA LLC
515 Autumn Walk
Canton, GA 30114
Voice: (678) 919-1250
Fax: (678) 919-1062
Regular Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-6pm
Tax Season Hours: Mon-Sat 9am-8pm
By Appointment Only
www.jjacksoncpa.com