J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2022

CHAPTER 46Filing Your Return

Whether you prepare your return yourself or retain a professional preparer, you must first collect and organize your tax records. You cannot prepare your return unless you get your personal tax data in order. Good records will help you figure your income and deductions and will serve as a written record to present to the IRS in the event that you are audited.

Review income statements from banks, employers, brokers, and governmental agencies on their respective Forms 1099. Check for miscalculations, additions, and omissions.

Survey Chapters 12–20 of this book for deductions you can claim directly from gross income and itemized deductions you can claim on Schedule A of Form 1040 or 1040-SR.

Reviewing your tax return from prior years will help refresh your memory as to how you handled income and expenses in prior years. This review will also remind you of deductions, carryover losses, and other items you might otherwise have overlooked that you might be eligible for. If you self-prepare your return using the same software or an online solution as in the prior year, it will automatically display this information for your (as long as you import last year’s return information). If your prior year returns were prepared by a professional, he or she can probably provide you with a copy of your returns if you do not have them. Otherwise, you may obtain copies of prior year tax returns by filing Form 4506 with the IRS and paying a fee.

In this chapter you ...