Organizing Deductions

• Despite many tax preparation programs like TurboTax being able to find tax deductions you may not think of, you may have many receipts to organize from charitable organizations that you've given to during the year. Find a large envelope and put all those receipts that can be deducted off your taxes into the envelope. Seal the envelope carefully and clearly label it "Deductions."
  
  

Organizing Income

• The Income folder should include receipts for all money made throughout the year. Include copies of your bank account information throughout the tax year to prove how much you made. If you receive payments through PayPal, use PayPal's feature of printing out all income transferred to your bank account. This document can come in handy to keep track of multiple payments you receive on PayPal year-round while working a job online. Fool.com also recommends writing out your income on a sheet of paper if you don't trust any other method.
  
  

Organizing Business Tax Documents

• If you run a business, you're going to have numerous tax documents that need to be organized as they accrue, such as prior tax forms that need to be filed in a separate folder just in case you need them in the event of an audit or in case your CPA needs to see them. These include 1099 forms, W-2s and information on property taxes and self-employment taxes. Include all the same tax documents that arrive at the beginning of tax season. Alternatively, past tax documents can be filed in a separate folder for a more categorical sense of organization.
  
  

Organizing Expenses

• In your Expenses folder, you should put all receipts for things that you spent money on throughout the tax year for your business. Also include personal expenses such as mortgage or educational expenses. Some expenses can be deducted, like buying energy-efficient equipment for your business or even some medical costs. In these scenarios, it may be a good idea to start a separate folder labeled "Expenses That Can Be Deducted." This folder and the Deductions folder should be filed close together.
  
  

Organizing Investments

• Some investment information can technically be placed in the Income file, especially if it involves contributions to your IRA. However, it's best to keep all your investment information in a separate folder since some of the investments are tax-deferred and others are not. Fool.com recommends dividing this up further into three separate folders, as in Tax-Deferred Investments, Non-Deductible Investments and Investments That Are Taxable.