I know that I have been writing about little other than taxes for the last couple of months.  I hope you all can forgive me for that, however, as it is just a fact of life in my profession that the topic takes up most of my headspace this time of year.

This is something that became key for many of our business clients as they pushed to file their tax returns earlier this month, and will grow larger in the minds of many of our individual clients as the April 18^th deadline for their return rushes toward us.

(And there is also a rush filling up our calendar, so if you have not made your tax appointment yet, you should do so soon!)

Even as one prepares their information and gathers documents for a tax return, though, other thoughts can sneak in. Almost all of us (and yes, that sometimes even includes us professionals) think about simple actions we could have taken during the year to make the tax-time crush a little lighter. This can be something as simple as being better at filing receipts or as complex as wanting a more complete bookkeeping system.

Unfortunately, such thoughts tend to linger for only a short time before being forgotten until next year. After all, there are 11 ½ months or so when you do not feel the pressure. But is not a little bit of effort throughout the year worth easing one’s life during tax time? For no matter how much one may want to avoid it, these obligations come back year after year.

So when it comes to such issues, remember that taxes are not all that we do. We cannot help you remember to put your receipts and bank statements together in an easily retrievable place, but we can help in many other areas even if just involves another meeting later in the year so you at least know what to expect come next tax season.

No matter what, chances are there is something in your financial picture that comes up at tax time that you wish was different. Consider this then a plea to not forget about it and commit to making it better for yourself. If we can help you with it great, and if not, we may be able to point you in the right direction. So do not hesitate to allow us to help you on your journey …

Even if we may need to wait til May to really deal with it. It is still tax time after all.

And speaking of tax time, rarely a day passes this time of year when someone does not ask us when they will receive their tax return. I know I have mentioned this recently, but as it keeps coming up, and the IRS recently put out a notice about it, I wanted to pass on some of their words:

Taxpayers eager to know when their refund will be arriving should use the "Where's My Refund" tool rather than calling the IRS and waiting on hold or ordering a tax transcript. The IRS updates the status of refunds once a day, usually overnight, so checking more than once a day will not produce new information. “Where’s My Refund?” has the same information available to IRS telephone assistors so there is no need to call unless requested to do so by ”Where’s My Refund?”

Contrary to a myth rumored in social media, ordering a tax transcript will not help taxpayers find out when they will get their refund. The IRS notes that the information on a transcript does not necessarily reflect the amount or timing of a refund. While taxpayers can use a transcript to validate past income and tax filing status for mortgage, student and small business loan applications and to help with tax preparation, they should use “Where’s My Refund?” to check the status of their refund.

“Where’s My Refund?” can be checked 24 hours after the IRS has received an e-filed return or four weeks after receipt of a mailed paper return. "Where’s My Refund?" has a tracker that displays progress through three stages: (1) Return Received, (2) Refund Approved and (3) Refund Sent.