There’s something about getting to April 15 that makes us feel like runners bursting through the ribbon at the finish line. As a non-runner, I can only imagine that thrill. All victories — big or small –are always worth celebrating.
What’s different at Personal Money Manager™ is that the work we do to get to the end of tax season is the same work we do year-round. The personal financial and household management tasks required to help keep senior clients independent and able to age in place is a marathon not a sprint.
Of course, April 15 is starred on my calendar. But so is October 15 (for clients on extension), and all of the due dates for estimated income taxes, RE taxes, driver’s license, passport renewals, and more.
On the income tax front, I’m on the look-out year round for possible deductions, which are easiest to document as they occur. I gather cash and credit card receipts and those elusive proofs of donations which might otherwise be lost in the run up to tax season. On behalf of clients, I create spreadsheets for gift tax return filings and cost basis information when they sell a house.
After all, I’ve got a whole roster of senior clients who count on me to keep these important dates in mind and tasks on track. I recently helped a senior client who is comfortable with her smart phone put her important recurring due dates into her calendar there so she, too, can get the heads up.
Deadlines are great motivators and fixed marks on the calendar hard to ignore. But life is less stressful when financial tasks and paperwork management are tackled throughout the year over regular visits.
For example, tax time doesn’t end with the thunk of the tax package from the CPA landing in the mailbox. We open the package, review the details, and walk through the next steps together. Are there taxes due? Any estimated taxes to be paid? We look to see how deductions, so meticulously compiled, show up in the 1040 and separate the returns from the back-up documents. After the CPAs have taken their much-deserved post-tax season breaks, we’ll reach out to them to see what needs clarification and what could be done differently next year. We’ll loop in the financial advisor (always looking for ways to improve communications between trusted advisors) and, always, seek tax benefits for our shared client. Look here for more tax-time insights.
Now is also the perfect time to calendar any estimated taxes and not too soon to set up a 2025 tax file.
Don’t like marathons any more than sprints? No worries! As a daily money manager, I tailor my role to fit with clients’ needs, abilities and preferences. Spread out over the year, everything will get done in manageable bites. And I’m by the client’s side guiding the process. If they’d like, I take over the tasks they enjoy the least.
Why sprint when slow and steady wins the race?
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