Guess what? You have an extra three days to file your taxes this year. April 15 falls on a Friday, but because Emancipation Day (a federal holiday – no I never heard of it either) is Friday the 15th, you have until Monday, April 18 to file this year. Also, because October 15 is a Saturday this year, if you file an extension you have until October 17 to file.On a personal note, my daughter Kirsten was honored as Student of the Month at her middle school. This apparently was announced on Friday, but she forgot to tell us until yesterday. Congratulations Kirsten. Oh, she also pulled almost straight As last semester as well (B+ in PE). I would have told you when we got the report card a week ago, but I forgot.
Brian’s Tax Musings
One question I get all the time is how long should I keep my tax records? Well for individuals the minimum you should keep is four years from when the return was filed, so in January 2011 you should keep at least 2006 records on. As far as records of stocks and real estate purchases, you should keep them until you sell them, then for 4 years after that. This is the minimum. If you have questionable tax items on your return you might want to keep them a little longer as the IRS can go back an unlimited number of years if it can prove fraud – and with the IRS fraud can be a nebulous thing.For businesses it is a good idea to keep 10 years of records just for comparison purposes and other reasons even though the statute of limitations is the same.
Brian’s Tax Musings
This isn’t really a tax tip, except for info storage. Rather than keeping a box or folder of tax receipts, use a scanner and your computer as a storage unit. Store all your receipts on pdf so you can better manage them. If you scan them in as you get them, it will be easier than to scan in a whole month (or 2 or 3). I will discuss this further in my February newsletter.