Free Printable & Tax Tips For Bloggers & Small Businesses

I know that the subject of taxes is not a word that brings happy images as a general rule especially for small business owners but it is a part of life that all of us must take time to consider.  That dreaded tax day is coming fast and so I thought that I would spend the next couple of months, on Tuesdays, talking about taxes and giving you some tips on how to make tax day much easier.

Because it is the first of the year, I want to tackle organization first.  If you stay organized and do little things all through the year then tax time will be much quicker, easier and less stressful.  I have learned this the hard way.  There are years that I was so organized that it was beautiful and then there have been those other years.

I have to confess that this past year I have not done such a great job of staying organized. I have this huge drawer with bills, receipts, and other that I get to sort through one day and file before I can even start getting my taxes together.  Don't do this!  There is a better way!  I am here to show you  the proper way as I get back on track.

For this post we will discuss the filing system.  The beauty of having a good filing system is that you can find anything you need easily and quickly. It makes life so much easier and so much neater too. It can also save you money. If you have messy files or the no filing system except a stashed drawer, shoe box, etc. it can actually be costing you money.

•  It  is easier to miss those little receipts that are deductible when you are having to do bulk filing due to not remembering what they are for or losing the receipt. 
• Time is money.  Every hour that you are spending trying to find and sort your tax receipts is time that you could be investing in your blog or business.
•  If you just take your sack or box of receipts to your tax expert to deal with then you are having to pay for extra services. 

OK, time to get started. If you will follow my instructions and stick to the program you can be organized, spend less time filing, and find anything you need all year long. When tax time comes along then it will be so much easier for you that you will wonder why you didn't do it this way all along.  It will only take a little time, a few office supplies, and a bit of knowledge.

• First you need a place to put those files. It can be a filing cabinet, a file box, or even one of those expandable folders. You decide what works best for you. I use one of those plastic file boxes. It holds about a year's worth of receipts and bills and then each year I empty it and start over. Check out Pinterest for inspiration on making those filing places work in your life. I have an organization board you can check out if you like. You can find it Here.
• Next you need file folders (I like to use pretty ones). Label those folders with the following:

1. Tax
2. Insurance
3. Utilities
4. Credit Cards
5. Loans
6. Store Receipts
7. Home Repair
8. Bank Statements
9. Deposits/Paystubs
10. Sales Receipts (Income)
11. Education
12. Medical
13. Vehicle
14. Miscellaneous

You can add other categories that you desire. I have found these to be adequate for my normal expenses. If you have sales for art, or advertising, or your Etsy then you may need to add folders for those. It is important to not let your Miscellaneous file get too large. If you see it getting too large then create another file with the category of items that fill it the most. To help you with this part I have created a Free PDF Printable.  You can print it out on regular paper or use it with Avery Labels.  (# 45366, 48266, 48366, 5029, 5268, 5366, 5368, 5378, 5566, 6505, 75366, 8066, 8478, 15266, or 8590).

We have a great start to getting ourselves organized. Next week I will discuss how to get bills, receipts, email and mail organized so that we can use our new file system and save time as well as simplify our lives.

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