>>> THIS MORNING IN YOUR MONEY IT’S ALL ABOUT TAX SEASON WITH
EXACTLY TWO MONTHS TO GO BELIEVE
IT OR NOT UNTIL THE APRIL 15th
FILING DEADLINE.
FILING DEADLINE. WE HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO
KNOW TO MAKE SURE YOU’RE ALL
SQUARED AWAY WITH UNCLE SAM THIS
YEAR.
YEAR. >> THIS IS INFORMATION I NEED.
ALLISON MORRIS PREVIOUSLY
COVERED BUSINESS NEWS FOR MSNBC
AND "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL."
>> HI, GUYS.
>> SO GOOD TO SEE YOU.
>> WE’RE GOING TO CALL THIS A
PERSONALTATORIAL.
PERSONALTATORIAL. >> I HEARD PETER NEEDS SOME
HELP.
HELP. >> I NEED SOME HELP AS WELL.
I GET VERY STRESSED OUT WITH TAX
SEASON.
SEASON. I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S ONLY TWO
MONTHS AWAY.
MONTHS AWAY. WHAT SHOULD WE BE DOING RIGHT
NOW?
NOW? >> GET YOURSELF ORGANIZED AND BY
THAT I MEAN GET ALL YOUR
DOCUMENTS TOGETHER.
DOCUMENTS TOGETHER. YOU’RE KIND OF THINKING WHAT
KIND OF PAPERWORK AND DOCUMENTS
DO I I NEED?
W-2s THOSE ARE THOSE PAPERS YOUR
EMPLOYERS SEND YOU.
PULL THAT.
PULL THAT. IF YOU’RE A FREELANCE WORKER
YOU’VE PROBABLY GOT A 1099.
GRAB THAT.
GRAB THAT. YOU’VE PROBABLY ALSO GOTTEN A
LOT OF LETTERS MAYBE E-MAILS
THAT SAY IMPORTANT TAX
INFORMATION INCLOSED RELATED TO
YOUR MORTGAGE, INVESTMENTS YOU
HAVE, CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS
YOU MIGHT HAVE MADE IN 2019.
GET ALL OF THAT, THROW IT IN A
FILE OR FOLDER AND HAVE IT
WHETHER YOU’RE GOING TO DO YOUR
TAXES YOURSELF OR GET
PROFESSIONAL HELP.
PROFESSIONAL HELP. >> SO WHEN DO YOU HIRE A
PROFESSIONAL AND WHEN DO YOU DO
IT FOR YOURSELF?
>> LAST MINUTE NOT A GOOD IDEA
BUT YOU SHOULD PUT YOURSELF IN
TWO CATEGORIES.
TWO CATEGORIES. EITHER MY TAXES OR SIMPLE OR
MORE COMPLICATED.
MORE COMPLICATED. IF YOU ARE SINGLE, YOU DON’T
HAVE CHILDREN, YOU DON’T HAVE A
LOT OF REAL ESTATE, YOU DON’T
HAVE BUSINESS, YOU DON’T HAVE A
LOT OF COMPLEX INVESTMENTS, YOU
TAX RETURNS MIGHT BE SIMPLE.
IF YOU ARE A MORE COMPLEX
SITUATION, SAY YOU’VE HAD A LIFE
CHANGING EVENT, YOU’RE DIVORCED,
YOU GOT MARRIED, YOU MIGHT WANT
TO GET PROFESSIONAL HELP.
ONE THING I WANT TO WARN PEOPLE,
THAT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE
EXPENSIVE.
EXPENSIVE. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY THOUSANDS
OF DOLLAR TUESDAYS TO GET A PROF
TO DO YOUR TAXES.
SEE IF IT’S A GOOD FIT.
DON’T PAY ANYTHING JUST TO KIND
OF TEST THE WATERS.
>> WHEN I WAS FIRST ENTERING THE
WORKING WORLD MOM AND DAD WAS MY
CPA.
CPA. >> MY PARENTS ARE CPAs.
MY DAD ACTUALLY IS CPA.
>> GOT THE STREET CRED.
>> EVERYONE’S ALWAYS LOOKING FOR
THE DEDUCTIBLES, THOUGH.
HOW CAN YOU MAKE SURE YOU LOWER
THE HIT YOU’RE GOING TO TAKE?
WHAT SHOULD YOU BE THINKING
ABOUT?
ABOUT? >> MOST THINGS YOU NEED TODAY DO
TO LOWER YOUR 2019 TAX BILL YOU
NEEDED TO DO IN 2019.
ONE OF THE WAYS YOU CAN LOWER
THAT BILL HAS TO DO WITH YOUR
RETIREMENT BUT I’M TALKING ABOUT
SPECIFIC GROUPS HERE.
IF YOU GET A TRADITIONAL 401K
FRM YOUR EMPLOYER THIS IS NOT
FOR YOU, BUT SAY YOU ARE
SELF-EMPLOYED OR YOU HAVE WHAT’S
CALLED ON IRA, YOU CAN CONTINUE
CONTRIBUTING UNTIL APRIL 15th
THIS YEAR AND IT WILL STILL GO
TOWARDS REDUCING YOUR TAX BILL
FROM 2019.
FROM 2019. ALSO IF YOU HAVE A HIGH
DEDUCTIBLE INSURANCE PLAN AND
YOU ARE ONE OF THESE PEOPLE AND
YOU CONTRIBUTE TO A HEALTH
SAVINGS ACCOUNT YOU CAN KEEP
PUTTING MONEY INTO THAT HEALTH
SAVINGS ACCOUNT AND IT WILL
STILL HELP YOU FOR 2019.
>> I FEEL LIKE YOU GET BOMBARDED
WITH E-MAILERS WITH TAX OFFERS.
HOW DO YOU STAY VIGILANT?
>> THIS IS AN ISSUE WE DEAL WITH
EVERY YEAR BECAUSE PEOPLE FALL
FOR THESE SCAMS ALL THE TIME.
JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, THE IRS
THEY ARE NOT GOING TO TEXT YOU,
THEY ARE NOT GOING TO E-MAIL
YOU.
YOU. THEY ARE NOT GOING TO REACH OUT
ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
ALSO THE IRS IS NOT GOING TO
THREATEN YOU.
THREATEN YOU. THEY’RE NOT GOING TO THREATEN TO
TAKE AWAY YOUR DRIVER’S LICENSE,
TAKE AWAY YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY
NUMBER, NOT GOING TO ARREST YOU.
THEY’RE ALSO NOT GOING TO ASK
YOU USUALLY FOR YOUR SOCIAL
SECURITY NUMBER.
SECURITY NUMBER. THE IRS HAS THAT INFORMATION.
THEY’RE ALSO PRETTY OLD SCHOOL
AND LIKE TO COMMUNICATE BY SNAIL
MAIL.
MAIL. IF YOU’RE GETTING STRANGE
COMMUNICATIONS DON’T RESPOND,
DON’T CLICK ON THOSE
ATTACHMENTS.
ATTACHMENTS. >> FANTASTIC INFORMATION.
I FEEL A LITTLE BIT LESS
STRESSED OUT NOW.
>> YOU THINK IT’S GOING TO BE
OKAY THIS YEAR?
>> I THINK IT’S GOING TO BE