Never, ever, ever….

Forget or delay filing your taxes.

TRUST ME – you don’t want IRS debt hanging over your head! It is the worst!

Don’t be scared of owing them money. Don’t be scared of disclosing your income. Don’t lie to them. Do try and find every loophole you can with a tax professional. Don’t listen to people who tell you to do something shady.

Always, always, always….

Submit an extension for filing right away, even if you don’t need it!

Gather your tax documents together in a pile where you will remember it. Get a folder, write in sharpie TAXES YYYY (Year) and stuff everything for that year in it:

• W2’s
• Receipts for expenses
• Receipts for any donations (give stuff away and get donation receipts!)
• Medical receipts
• Childcare / School expenses
• DMV expenses
• Copies of 1099’s if you invest in stocks (even with Stash/Robinhood/Cash/etc)
• Anything else you think you might need for deductions!!

Find a cheap tax person, or use TurboTax which is hella easy to use

The Truth Is….

The government can and will garnish your wages (take money directly from your paycheck before you get it) if you don’t file, lie to them, or don’t pay for a long time. You can’t do anything about it if they do, and they an take almost everything until they are paid.

If they do garnish your wages, you can call them an negotiate an amount, but they will never remove the garnishment until they get paid.

The IRS is a machine that chews taxpayers up and spits them out.