Tips for filing your return
The key to maintaining your sanity through tax season is organization. This is especially important if you are preparing your own tax returns. While tax filing software has made the job much easier, it will still require you to input the appropriate information, so start early to assemble it. Think about using personal finance software if you are not already doing so. 

Even if you use a tax professional to do the job, they can do the most thorough and complete job only if you present them with all the information they need from the start. This is the best way to maximize your chances of minimizing your tax tab.   Self-filers will find attacking the task in bite-size pieces can help make the whole more digestible. The IRS points out that rushing leads to mistakes, such as math errors and incorrect entry of social security numbers, which can delay refunds.  Here are the basic documents and forms you will need.

Documents:
The essentials are W-2 forms from your employer(s) and 1099 forms from organizations from which you have reportable income. These must be mailed by February 1.  If you are a subchapter S corp shareholder, you will get a K-1, which must be mailed by March 1. You’ll also need the 1098 form from your mortgage lender reporting home mortgage interest and property taxes paid (if you do not pay them directly).  When mutual fund sales are reported to you, your average cost basis of the shares is usually included.  Sales of stocks and bonds will probably require you to refer to your own records to determine whether you had gains or losses.  Be sure to find the purchase dates and cost basis for the investments sold, which will be information necessary to fill out your Schedule D (Capital Gains and Losses).  Did you add a dependent in 2007?  You need taxpayer identification numbers (for a new baby, that will be a Social Security number) for family members to claim them as a dependent.  If you claim tax benefits for a resident or nonresident alien who is not eligible for an SSN, you should file an IRS Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.  For cash charitable contributions, you now need either a bank record (a cancelled check or a bank or credit card statement) or a written communication from the charity showing the amount and date of the contribution.

Cash contributions of more than $250 require an acknowledgment from the charity.  Non-cash contributions of less than $250, more than $250 but less than $500, and more than $500 each have specific recordkeeping requirements that must be met. Further, no deduction is now allowed for contributions of used clothing or household items unless they are in at least “good”condition. An exception to the general rules is made for property worth more than $500 for which you have an appraisal.  For donations of vehicles, if the claimed value is more than $500, you must have a written acknowledgment from the charity and you must attach it to your return. The acknowledgment must include your taxpayer identification number, vehicle identification number and date of the contribution.  If the vehicle was sold, the charity also must include the price at which it was sold and certify that the sale was an arm’s-length transaction. If the charity made significant use of or fixed up the vehicle, then a deduction can be taken for the fair market value, subject to additional certifications. 

Forms:
If you are filing the same forms this year as last, the IRS has probably already sent you the appropriate package. However, if you moved, are itemizing for the first time (especially anyone who bought their first home in 2007), or started a business, for example, you will need additional forms.  You can download forms from the IRS at www.irs.gov.   You can also use a fax machine to request items. Call 703-368-9694 (not a toll-free call) from your fax machine.  Got all the documents and forms you need?

Consider these items:
Valuing deductions for aluing contributions of items to charity.
Estimating the value of household items such as old clothes, toys, appliances, etc. that you donated to charity is troublesome for most taxpayers. You can deduct the “fair market value” of these items, but how do you know what that is?  The Salvation Army (www.satruck.org/valueguide.aspx) and Goodwill Industries(www.goodwillpromo.org) both maintain sites that contain ranges of values for common clothing and household items.  If you use TurboTax to prepare your return, it has software that values and manages your charitable donations.

Make a retirement contribution.
One thing that you can still do this year to reduce 2007’s tax liability is make a deductible contribution to a retirement account.  Contributions to traditional IRAs and certain accounts for the self-employed can be made until the due date for your return (without extensions). The annual contribution limit for regular and spousal IRAs is $4,000 for 2007, $5,000 if you’ve turned 50.  You qualify for the full amount of the IRA if you are not covered by a retirement plan at work.  If you are covered, you can take a full deduction if your “modified” adjusted gross income is less than $52,000 for a single person, $80,000 for married joint filers. The deduction phases out from $52,000 to $62,000 for singles and $80,000 to $100,000 for joint filers.