INCOME TAX FORMS - COMPLETING YOURSELF OR FARM IT OUT ?

The annual tax filing season will soon be here. It can't be avoided. Until the tax laws are changed and filing our federal tax returns will be done on one side of a post card it will remain a fact of life. The biggest source of confusion seems to be the many tax forms required to complete the process. With the tax code exceeding many thousands of pages it's no wonder we have all the tax forms to fill out and complete.

It seems to be an annual struggle for many to get their tax forms and the tax return completed accurately and on time. Not to mention that it can become confusing unless you know what you are doing. Many prefer to do their federal income tax forms and all of the other forms by themselves. Then there are others who prefer to get help, even through their only income is reported on one W-2 tax form.

Following are some reasons that many complete their own federal income tax forms:

• When you know how they were completed you will know what exactly is happening on the federal income tax forms. In other words, you will know what you owe or what you are getting back for your tax return. Not to mention the fact that you will know how the amounts were figured out.

• You won't have to worry about anyone knowing anything about your personal finances except the government. Some people prefer to keep their finances personal because they don't want others learning about their income and personal financial situation.

• You'll save money every year when it comes to tax time because you'll know how to fill out your own federal income tax forms and all of the others. You won't have to spend any money to hire someone to do it for you.
For those who hire a service or someone else to complete their federal income tax here are some reasons you might have to hire someone else to do the job for you:

• You may able to save yourself a lot of time and bother. You won't have to sit down and figure out how to fill in the federal income tax forms or any of the others, which can be difficult unless you're familiar with the process or have done it before. .

• You may end up getting more money back on your tax return because your tax preparer will know what tax deductions you can properly declare. There are other aspects of the tax law that they may be able to help you with that may save you additional tax dollars.

How you get your federal income tax forms completed is an individual decision. You might want to weigh the pros and cons of each one to help you decide how you want to do your taxes at the end of each year. Also, however you decide, be sure to carefully plan what you can do each year to minimize you tax liability. Take advantage of the full extent of your employers 401k or 403b and don't forget to fund your IRA's. Aside from saving on your taxes you'll be way ahead in planning your financial future. However you get the tax forms completed be sure you do it or get it done on time.