Tax Preparation Tips
March 18, 1998

It is said that the only two things that are certain in life are death and taxes. I think we should add "slughood" to that list. Given a situation that we detest, we are likely to put it off rather than deal with it right then. That's why, according to the IRS, a whopping 28% of all individual tax returns are mailed less than a week before April 15th.

When I suggested to Roy Lewis (TMF Taxes) that we should do a Family Fool collection aimed at helping those 28% of our fellow Americans, he scoffed. He said, "Fools don't act like that!" I came back with, "But almost everyone I know fills out the 1040-EZ form on April 14th." His response? I needed to get a better class of friends.

Well, that may be true, but it's also true that there's a whole world of "normal" people out there who have better things to do on a Saturday afternoon than find receipts for burgers they ate 10 months ago. Still, Roy is right. We really should do a better job of keeping track of our expenses and looking for ways to get our tax bill down.

If you need a little help understanding the basics of paying your taxes, or maybe you just need a little nudge to start saving those McDonald's receipts when you take your clients out for lunch, we're here with some advice and inspiration.

-- Let's see how much you really know about paying Uncle Sam by taking our Fool Quiz.

-- Believe it or not, the IRS gets over 100,000 returns each year from people who didn't sign their return. In Details, Details we give you a checklist of things not to forget when you're filling out your forms (even if it is only the 1040-EZ.).

-- For those who have mastered signing their returns, TMF Taxes has compiled a list of his top 20 Foolish Tax Tips.

-- Are you confused about the difference between a 1040-EZ and an Easy Bake oven? Not to worry, we've got you covered with our explanation of the Top Tax Forms.

-- And finally, since this is a place for families to talk about money stuff, we've put together a list of FAQs on kids and taxes.

Don't worry if you've always been a slug when it comes time to pay your taxes. As Roy would say, "It's never to late to learn to be Foolish."

-- Trudy Bowen (TMF Hoyden)