Year End Taxes

Reminder to plan for your year-end taxes

Author: Tammy Doss

It is that time of the year to assess your tax situation for the current tax year 2024.

With this in mind… I hope your year has gone well so far and that as you head into the Holiday season you have the time to consider your tax situation.

With September through December 2024 ahead of you, it is a great opportunity to look at your current withholdings and make needed adjustments.   It is a great time to determine if it makes sense to either put more money into your 401K or IRA or tuck a few more bucks away in savings account for a rainy day.

Take a hard look at the current withholdings you have coming out of your check and adjust as necessary by completing new California form DE-4 and/or Federal form W-4.  As always it is your money first so be sure you are not overpaying your taxes to the federal or state agencies.

Remember that if you were married, divorced, added a member to your family, took over the care of an elderly family member etc. that you consider this when adjusting your tax withholdings.  Don’t forget the childcare credits!

It is the best time to make sure if you moved or changed employment that you notify your employer/s of the address changes for your W-2 or 1099.  Being pro-active is your best bet so that the address your forms are mailed to is correct.  This will save you a lot of time when you are ready to file your tax returns.   Be sure you communicate with your employer that the address on your updated forms is where you want your W-2 or 1099 mailed to at year end.  If not provide that information separately.   Keep in mind that the usual mailing deadlines for W-2’s is the end of January 2025 and 1099’s are at the end of February 2025.

Always, keep your check stubs, timecard copies and back up information from your payroll so that you have exactly what you need to file your tax returns.  It will save you time, and you won’t have to wait on previous employers or current ones to provide the information that you should already have.

It is imperative to allow time for your employer, payroll service or clients of changes to your banking information as soon as possible so there are no delays for direct deposits and to confirm that the new information is updated immediately.

Keep it simple and keep it up to date.  It will make the year end process and filing your taxes so much easier.  Forms are available from The Job Shop.  Please do not hesitate to contact our staff and we will provide the forms you need.