Individual Tax Return Checklist for Arizona Residents

Individual Tax Return Checklist for Arizona Residents

Modern taxes in the United States got their start during the Civil War.

Taxes have been unavoidable since then.

Every year, people have to start thinking about their individual tax return options.

Filing an individual Arizona state tax return can be stressful.

What do you need to file one correctly?

What can you do to make the process as easy and efficient as possible?

A tax return checklist can help. Keep reading and learn more about how it works below.

Information About Your Income

The first step in any tax return is gathering information about your income.

You can’t properly file a tax return without figuring out your income.

This is important because making a small mistake at this stage could ruin your tax return.

This is why it is important to make sure you have all the necessary information before you start filing taxes.

Consider how much money you made for the year from your job.

This will most likely be your main source of income.

But you may have other important streams of income that you shouldn’t miss.

Consider whether you have any investments that made money for you over the year.

These investments include mutual funds, stocks and bonds, certificates, and so on.

Any money you make needs to get documented.

If you miss any of this information, it could come back to bite you if the IRS finds out that you weren’t reporting everything.

If you have a business, consider how much money you earned from it over the year.

Even if you didn’t make very much, it is still important to list whatever money you made.

The Details

Consider if you have received any pensions as well.

A pension is considered a form of income and you may have to pay taxes on it.

Consider if you have any rental properties as well.

Any money you make on these rental properties will be considered income.

If you have had any losses, you need to report these too.

Losses can get factored into your tax return and you might not have to pay as many taxes.

Think about if you have any other streams of income.

If you have earned any gambling winnings, these will get taxed.

If you have any scholarships, these may get taxed as well.

If you made a few dollars here and there with your hobbies, you should write these earnings down as well.

Putting all this information together in one place will make tax season much easier for you.

Any Adjustments to Your Income

Suppose that you gather all the information you have regarding your income.

You’re not done once you do that.

The next step is determining whether you need to make any adjustments to the number you came up with.

These adjustments are important as they can reduce how much of your income is taxed.

Suppose that you made a total of $100,000 for the year.

A large chunk of that will get taxed if you don’t make any adjustments.

But you can lower the total amount taxed in a few different ways.

Suppose you made some IRA contributions over the year.

These contributions will lower your total income tax, even if the contributions were small.

Student loan interest can also get counted.

Adjustments like these can also increase your tax refund.

This ensures that your income won’t take such a big hit after it gets taxed.

What You Need to Know

You may also be allowed to use moving expenses as an adjustment to your income.

But this may not be allowed if you are in the military and moving around is required.

Consider if you made any Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions.

These may also count toward the adjustments made to your income.

And what about self-employed health insurance premium payments?

Check for self-employed pension plans too.

Suppose you have a SEP IRA.

A percentage of your contributions to this pension plan can act as a tax write-off.

This lowers the total amount that you will get taxed for the year.

While the entire SEP is not deductible, a percentage of it is still better than nothing.

This also applies to any alimony payments you made for the year.

Tax Deductions

If you have any itemized tax deductions or credits, you need to calculate these too.

These will further reduce the amount of taxes that you’ll have to pay on your income.

This ensures that you won’t have to fork over a huge chunk of money out of your pocket to the government.

Suppose you had a lot of childcare costs over the year.

These costs are considered tax deductions.

Counting these into your tax return will lessen the blow.

Education costs are also significant.

What about home mortgage interest payments?

These payments are often large every month and can count toward your tax return.

Charitable donations also count.

Donations include items that you donated, miles that you drove for charity, and so on.

You can also count losses such as stolen items.

These may get reimbursed according to your insurance and can help you with your tax deductions.

Your accountant will make sure you have all your bases covered when you file your tax return.

Your Individual Tax Return Checklist

If you don’t know how to file your individual tax return, start with a checklist.

This will help you keep things organized.

An accountant can also be a big help.

If you need an accountant or tax service, look no further than what we have to offer.


Do you need help filing your taxes? Master Accounting provides expert tax services in Phoenix, AZ, and surrounding areas. Contact the experts at Master Accounting for a free initial consultation! Call (480) 456-4999 or submit your request online here.

 

 

 

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