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"If you still haven&amp;#039;t filed your taxes this year, there&amp;#039;s no need to worry\u2014you&amp;#039;ve got some time! Check out these easy last-minute tax tips to ensure your procrastination doesn&amp;#039;t come back to haunt you. Figure out the best filing method. Determine whether you want to hire a tax preparation professional or if you&amp;#039;re going to opt to file your taxes on your own this year. If you decide a professional is the way to go, immediately find one that is available for an appointment before the April 15 deadline. Otherwise, get acquainted with easy-to-use online tax software, such as H&amp;amp;amp;R Block, TurboTax and TaxACT. Most of these services allow you to file your federal return for free. Compile the necessary documents. Gather all of your necessary paperwork, such as year-end statements, receipts, charitable donation records and other documents that verify your various expenditures throughout the year. One way to make this easier next year is to use account management service Manilla.com, which automatically retrieves and files your bills and statements for you. Spread out your tasks. Sitting down to conquer your taxes requires patience and planning, and trying to do everything in one sitting will be too overwhelming. &amp;quot;Don&amp;#039;t try to do everything all in one night, even if you only have a few days left,&amp;quot; says Linda Descano of Citi&amp;#039;s Women &amp;amp;amp; Co. &amp;quot;Set aside blocks of time to go through receipts, organize statements and get your paperwork in order. The more you divide and conquer, the more manageable the process will become.&amp;quot; Identify your deductions. It&amp;#039;s important to know what you can write off and what you shouldn&amp;#039;t write off. &amp;quot;If you&amp;#039;re not going to be using your standard deduction, then accurately look over your itemized deductions, making sure they&amp;#039;re all in check,&amp;quot; says Sam Burgoon of financial website CreditSeason.com. Remember, if you can&amp;#039;t make the deadline, Burgoon said, don&amp;#039;t forget that you can ask for a six-month extension to submit your paperwork, but you&amp;#039;ll still have to pay anything owed to the IRS by the April 15 deadline. Sarah Kaufman is the managing editor of the Manilla Blog and marketing manager of Manilla.com, the leading, free and secure service that lets you manage your bills and accounts in one place online and via mobile apps. To get more financial tracking and budgeting tips, visit Manilla.com. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/work-money/tips/a6926/help-with-taxes/?click=lifestyle>