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5 Easy Must Know Tips For Filing Taxes Yourself

This post is sponsored by H&R Block. All thoughts are my own.

Tax season is a less than ideal time of year for most. We are stressing between trying to keep up with our new year’s resolutions and the impending deadline to file our taxes. If you have considered filing your taxes yourself, you’re not crazy. 

There is so much that comes with filing your taxes! There are so many rules when it comes to being an entrepreneur, having kids, owning a home and so much more! (Spoiler alert–having more children after the first is an easy add on to your filing.)

If you don’t have a complicated situation (or even if you do!), you may be able to save quite a bit of money by filing your taxes online with H&R Block. In fact, H&R Block is always at least $10 cheaper than TurboTax. If you do decide that this is the best option for you, here are five tax tips for filing taxes yourself.

Gather all Your Documents in One Place FIRST

You don’t want to be midway through filing your taxes when you realize you forgot to include a deduction or an important document. This is why it’s so important to gather all of the documents you need in one place first. From there, you can organize your charitable receipts and other forms, so when you’re ready to file, you have the papers you need handy. This will also save you time. (You can also get organized digitally with H&R Block’s free MyBlock app.)

Choose the Right Deduction

For most people, the standard deduction is going to be more beneficial than the itemized deduction. However, you need to crunch the numbers if you’re not sure. Here is some crucial info about the different deduction types to keep in mind.

–Head of household

–Married Couples (filing jointly)

–Single or filing separately

It will be higher in 2020, but for 2019, the standard deduction for single filers or married filers who are filing separately is $12,200. For those who are filing as heads of household or jointly, the deduction is $24,400. If your deductible amount is more than these numbers, that is when you should consider doing an itemized deduction instead.

Use a Handy Tool to Make it Easier

H&R Block can be a handy tool to help you file your taxes yourself. If you don’t have experience filing taxes, I highly recommend using these for at least the first year you file your taxes. These tools are meant to help you make sure you aren’t missing anything and have easy to fill in sections to make sure you don’t forget to include something.

Take Your Time

An H&R Block tax expert is experienced in filing taxes, and they are accountable for looking over to make sure everything looks good. If you are filing yourself, you need to make sure you are looking over things and taking your time! A small mistake could result in a fine, audit, or worse!

It’s so great to have the option of H&R Block Online Assist for filers who need a little help along the way. H&R Block Online Assist offers on-demand access to highly trained tax experts at H&R Block available to provide the level of help DIY filers want or need. Online Assist offers unlimited, on-demand chat sessions with a highly trained H&R Block tax expert, IRS enrolled agent or CPA.

Get Organized for Next Year

After you’ve filed your taxes, it’s essential to start thinking of next year. Either use the MyBlock app or create a folder where you will keep your tax documents and other important information to help make it easier for filing next year!

Filing your taxes is something every single person has to do. While it’s true that there are hundreds of options out there to do it, sometimes doing it yourself will be the best option. Use these five tips to help you file your taxes and make the most of your possible tax return that may follow.

Now that I have prepared you to do your taxes on your own–here are some great H&R Block Solutions For You!

H&R Block Free Online 

Designed for people with less complex filing situations, including clients who have W-2 income, kids and rent, as well as students and first-time filers. More people can file for free with H&R Block vs. TurboTax, including parents and students.  Federal cost: $0; $0 per state filed 

H&R Block Deluxe Online 

Designed for homeowners, people who’ve made charitable donations and those with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs); includes six years’ access to tax returns, Deduction Pro® to optimize deductions, and chat support for technical questions. Federal cost: $29.99; $36.99 per state filed. 

H&R Block Premium Online 

Designed for freelancers, contractors, investors and rental property owners; includes all Deluxe features as well as the ability to import expenses from popular expense-tracking apps, and cost basis calculation using our advanced filing calculators to help determine the cost basis of your home sale, dividend and gift and inheritance assets.  Federal cost: $49.99; $36.99 per state filed 

H&R Block Self Employed Online 

Designed for self-employed individuals and small business owners with a home office and/or employees; includes all Premium features as well as an improved guided Schedule C interview to ensure a better experience for complex clients. Federal cost: $79.99; $36.99 per state filed

Get your taxes done right with these easy tools from H&R Block! 

Do you file your taxes online yourself? Switch to H&R Block today and use this link to save 25% off any of their Online services!