Record Keeping

According to the IRS, you must keep the records needed to substantiate all your income and deductions available for inspection. You don’t have to spread them out on the coffee table in case someone from the IRS knocks your door.  But upon reasonable notice from the IRS, you must be able to produce the records for an audit.

Except in the case of fraud, the IRS must audit your return within three years from the due date of the return or the date of filing, whichever is later. That statute is extended by three years if you misstated your income by 25% or more, and indefinitely if you file a fraudulent return, or no return at all.

Even if you filed your tax return on time and reported all your income, you should retain the following records for a longer period of time even though the statute of limitations has expired:

Prior Tax Returns – Keep copies of all tax returns you have filed in the past. These returns are helpful in preparing future tax returns, and they provide an interesting road map of your financial history that may be of interest to you down the road.

Payment of Taxes – Keep canceled checks that prove that you paid your taxes when due. The IRS records are not always what they should be, and sometimes they misplace your payment.

Basis of Property – Records relating to the cost of property and improvements to that property should be retained as long as you own that property or a replacement property. If you sold your residence, but deferred the tax on the gain by reinvesting in a new house under the old rules in effect before 1998, you will need to retain the records for both the new house and the old house.

How Should You Keep Your Tax Records

You should always keep a set of backup records safely away from the original set.  To ease your pain, keep in mind that financial institutions provide documents and statements electronically via the internet and these documents can be downloaded to backup storage devices or burned to a CD.

One of the benefits of using TurboTax is your tax information is safely and securely stored so you can access it and transfer it to the next tax year.  Although your tax information is saved when you complete your tax return, it is best to also save your tax return as a PDF file.  This step can save you valuable time if you need to access information such as your adjusted gross income or if a copy is required to obtain a loan.  In addition, if you use TurboTax Free edition, you need to save a PDF file.

TurboTax apps for your mobile or tablet device also will store your tax return, however you should back up your completed tax files for your records before deleting the apps.

Of course, if you want to keep all your records forever, there’s no rule against it if you have the room. We know many people who like to pore over old records, and seem to derive as much enjoyment from it as some of us do looking at old photographs.

But when the neighbors complain that your burgeoning collection of bank statements, checks and receipts are blowing out your windows and flying around the neighborhood, it’s time for some spring cleaning.

Whether you have an iPhone, Android, iPad, Android tablet, or Kindle Fire, TurboTax has apps to help you with your taxes.  Check out this cool motion graphic to find out more about the mobile apps available to help you.

What mobile device will you use to file your taxes?

Just a few weeks ago, TurboTax announced the launch of TurboTax for Android tablet customers.  Today, we are expanding that announcement to include TurboTax (Kindle Fire Edition).  It’s exciting to add yet another mobile offering to the robust suite of mobile apps available to taxpayers this tax season.

TurboTax(Kindle Fire Edition)

With sales of Kindle Fire units on the rise, the new app reaches more customers and helps them prepare and e-file their federal and state tax returns on the device of their choice.

Designed and optimized specifically for the Kindle Fire, this app gives you the freedom to work on your taxes anytime, anywhere, and without always being connected to the Internet.  With the 7-inch screen in landscape position, you can easily navigate (or tap) your way through your taxes with step-by-step guidance to your maximum tax refund.

Just like other TurboTax apps, your tax return can be password protected for an extra layer of security. You can e-file your tax return directly from your Kindle Fire tablet and get a refund in as little as seven days with direct deposit and then easily and securely email a copy of your tax return to your computer.

While you currently cannot transfer previous year tax information or import income automatically, the app is ideal for new TurboTax customers, who haven’t yet started their return.

Need free tax advice?

This year, TurboTax is the only software to offer everyone free one-on-one live tax advice, via phone or chat from highly experienced tax professionals.

Free to download, pay when you’re done!

Kindle Fire customers can download the app via the Amazon Appstore.  Users can start in TurboTax Deluxe, for $29.99, and based on your tax situation, you can choose TurboTax Premier or TurboTax Home & Business for an additional cost. State tax preparation is additional. All pricing is subject to change and includes e-file at no additional cost.

To learn more and see the new app in action, check out the video.

“We are really excited to build upon our success from last season,” said Jason Smerican, senior product manager.  “We have the benefit of going through the full tax season this year and can’t wait for even more customers to experience the convenience of doing their taxes from their iPad.”

With the first apps in the market, to allow people to prepare and file their tax returns all from their mobile devices, TurboTax apps make it easier than ever for taxpayers, anytime, anywhere.  You can estimate your tax refund, prepare and e-file your tax return, and track the status of your tax return after you file, all from your mobile devices.  Unlike other tax apps, TurboTax apps are specifically designed and optimized specifically for an app user experience.

The new suite of apps includes:     

• SnapTax: Designed for taxpayers with simple tax returns (1040EZ), SnapTax lets you snap a photo of your W-2 with the camera in your phone and then, automatically transfers information right onto your tax return. You then answer a few simple questions, review your tax return and tap “File My Taxes” to e-file in minutes.  Available for iPhone or Android devices.

•  TurboTax for iPad:  Improved for tax year 2011, TurboTax for iPad, now includes the ability to easily transfer information from your prior year tax return and automatically import income information directly from 400,000 employers, banks and financial institutions. Free one-on-one tax advice from highly-qualified tax experts is now available if you use TurboTax for iPad and SnapTax as well.  This year there will also be new apps for android tablets, including Kindle Fire.

• TaxCaster: Now available for iPad as well as iPhone and Android devices, TaxCaster is a free and easy way to estimate your tax refund.  With this interactive and engaging app, you can quickly and easily enter information using visual icons and sliders to see where you stand before you file. 

• MyTaxRefund: After e-filing, you can check the status of both your federal and state tax returns with this free and easy mobile app available now for iPad, as well as iPhone, Android devices.  MyTaxRefund also tells you when to expect to receive your federal tax refund based on IRS projections.

• TurboTax Card Mobile- Free to TurboTax customers who choose to receive their tax refund on a TurboTax Prepaid Visa® Card, the TurboTax Card Mobile app is available for both iPhone and Android devices.  The app allows you to track your federal tax refund, activate your card, check your balance and transactions, locate ATMs and more!

 TurboTax Online products are also accessible to mobile users.

All TurboTax online products, including Free Edition, are now compatible when accessing through a browser on the iPhone, Android, Kindle Fire, iPad and other tablets. With an improved mobile experience, if you are using a browser, you can move between your mobile device and your computer giving you more freedom and choice to prepare your taxes whenever and wherever you want.

TurboTax Goes Mobile

To check out new videos of the tax apps, click here to see TurboTax for iPad and SnapTax in action.

Pricing and Availability

All apps from TurboTax are free to download.  TurboTax for iPad and SnapTax customers pay when they are done.  All pricing for TurboTax mobile apps is available on the App Store, Android Market, or Amazon App Store for Android.

What could be better?  The ability to accurately and easily estimate, prepare, and e-file your taxes or track your tax refund all while being mobile.  So what device do you use to file your taxes?

Check out SnapTax and TurboTax for iPad on YouTube here:

Watch a short video of the iPad app in action:

Optimized for the iPad, the app lets users choose whether to work in landscape or portrait view and gives them the freedom to work on their taxes anytime and anywhere, even when they’re on the go.

Like all TurboTax products, TurboTax on the iPad guides people step-by-step through their returns to their maximum refund.  Customers can also e-file their return from the iPad and get a refund in as little as eight days with direct deposit.

To try it out, taxpayers can download the mobile app for free from the Apple App store and pay when they are done. Customers begin in TurboTax Deluxe, starting at $29.99 and based on their tax situation, and can choose TurboTax Premier or TurboTax Home & Business for an additional cost. State tax preparation is additional. All pricing includes e-filing at no additional cost.

After they have filed their taxes, for a true end-to-end iPad TurboTax tax experience,  taxpayers can check the status of their federal tax refund based on IRS projections with the free MyTaxRefund iPad app.

TaxCaster – Want to know how big your tax refund is going to be? TaxCaster is a free tax calculator app that will give you a quick tax estimate. Just enter basic information about you, your income and tax deductions to get a good idea if you will owe money or – hopefully – get a nice big tax refund. (iPhone, Android, WP7, WordPress plugin)

SnapTax – Prepare and file your taxes on your phone. Available nationwide and designed for taxpayers with simple tax returns (1040EZ), SnapTax allows you to snap a photo of your W-2, answer a few simple questions, review your return and e-file your federal and state tax return directly from your phone.  Download and try for free, pay $14.99 when you prepare and are ready to file. (iPhone, Android)

MyTaxRefund – Wondering “Where’s my refund?” MyTaxRefund, a free and easy app, is available to any taxpayer that has e-filed their federal tax return.  MyTaxRefund shows you the IRS projected status of your e-filed, federal tax return, tells you if your tax return has been accepted by the IRS and when the IRS estimates you’ll get your federal tax refund. (iPhone, iPad)

Apps can bring a little bit of fun and definitely convenience to your daily routine, so why not use them to help with your taxes too.

This year, SnapTax is available for all states AND for both iPhone and Android mobile phones.  SnapTax is all about making it simple to file your taxes.  Just shoot, snap, file and you’re done.  So easy, it’s like magic! Here’s a snappy video to help illustrate.

SnapTax uses optical character recognition (OCR) technology to snap a photo of a W-2 and transfer data to the tax return. Very cool! Answer some basic questions, check the return for accuracy and tap “File Now” when your ready to electronically file your return. There’s a running tally of the refund, or taxes owed, every step of the way. Your tax information is literally at your fingertips.

You can download SnapTax for free in the Apple App Store and Android Market and pay an introductory price of $14.99 when you are ready to e-file your return. The price includes federal and state preparation and e-filing.

Last year, SnapTax was limited to CA residents with an iPhone only and quickly achieved a 4 star rating in the Apple App Store. Feedback from customers was great. Avery Ryder, a 21-year-old college student and the first person to file a return using the app shared his reaction. “It captured all of my information perfectly and the import worked great … surprisingly great because I didn’t have to re-enter anything”, Ryder said.

This year, SnapTax is available to millions of taxpayers in all states. Designed for those with a simple return (1040EZ), SnapTax will quickly and easily walk them through the process. Sounds like something you may want to check out for yourself? There are some qualifications to help you decide is will work for you. Check out the Apple App Store or Andoid Market or go to www.SnapTax.com. So what are you waiting for…Snap to it!