Your Tax Time Survival Guide

🎉 It’s here again—tax season! That joyous time when ODs and tax preparers come together to conquer the complexities of tax returns 🤝.

Whether you're managing a private practice or working as an associate, being prepared with the right documents can make tax time smoother, faster, and more financially beneficial.

Here's your essential tax-time checklist to keep things running stress-free:

Information and Documents to Gather

Gathering documents and information can be one of the most challenging parts of tax season. Missing documents can lead to key information missing from your tax return, and very often I see that clients don't remember actions we took through the year (understandably).

Here are some of the most likely candidates to watch out for.

✅ W-2: For your wages (should arrive by January 31)
✅ 1099 forms: For contractor income, interest, dividends, and taxable investments (also due by January 31, but be cautious of correct 1099s from taxable investment accounts)
✅ 1099-R: For any retirement account distributions—this includes Roth IRA conversions, "backdoor" Roth IRA contributions, or SIMPLE IRA account rollovers. Also, if you chose to take employer match dollars as Roth contributions!​
✅ 1099-SA: For HSA account distributions
✅ 1099-Q: For 529 plan distributions
✅ K-1 forms: From S-corporations, partnerships, or real estate investments (usually by March's entity filing deadline. What about those real estate partnerships? Who knows 🤷‍♂️, probably some time just before the extended tax filing deadline....)

✅ Donations: Donation confirmations to donor advised funds or other nonprofits
✅ Form 1099-S: Transaction info when selling real estate
✅ Mortgage and business loan interest statements
✅ Receipts for major practice investments (new tech, equipment, etc.)

What to Share with Your Tax Preparer:

✅ All the documents listed above
✅ Any major life changes—new kids, moving, opening or closing businesses, etc.
✅ Updated financial statements for your practice
✅ Car mileage, business expenses, or home office info
✅ New benefit plans like QSEHRAs implemented at the practice
✅ Health insurance premiums paid during the tax year
✅ Estimated tax payments made quarterly, including PTET payments in the practice (if relevant)
✅ Dependent care or education expenses that may qualify for deductions
✅ Contributions made—e.g., backdoor Roth IRA contributions, HSA contributions, 529 plan contributions
✅ Plans for further tax savings, like SEP IRA or 401(k) profit sharing
✅ Your student loan plan, especially if using an income-driven repayment (IDR) strategy. Informs decisions like filing married jointly vs. separately.

What to Consider Doing Before Tax Time

There's still some time to impact 2024's tax return before filing deadlines:

✅ SEP IRA and 401(k) profit sharing contributions (before your practice's tax filing deadline, including extension). Includes solo 401(k)s!​
✅ IRA and HSA contributions (your personal tax filing deadline)
✅ Cost segregation study (even for properties already purchased in prior years). For properties placed in service in 2024, that's limited to 60% bonus depreciation based on current tax laws. ​
✅ 529 contributions (some states allow a deduction if made before your tax filing deadline)

If 2023's tax return is more favorable, it may make sense to extend 2024's tax filing, giving you more time to recertify income again with 2023's return.

If you're married, it may make sense to file taxes separately instead of jointly - especially in community property states like California and Texas.

Resources for You

👉 Tax Letter - Ask your financial advisor to send a tax letter to you and your tax pro to help with tax filing. See this example of what I send for my clients.
👉 Checklist - Enjoy this guide on What Documents You Need to Gather for Tax Filing

Keep in contact with your professionals, and I hope this helps with what can often be a challenging and overwhelming time.

Give a hug, high-five, or fist bump to your CPA or EA. They're about to go into battle for you.

Reach out with any questions, and have a great weekend!

New From our Education Hub

Episode 124: Scaling and Freedom: When, Why, and How to Add an Associate to Your Practice Erich Mattei of Akrinos joins me to dive into the decision of when, why, and how to add an associate OD to your practice. Listen to the Episode

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