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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2016
Tax & Finance
Tax help available at
Siuslaw Public Library
Get a head-start on tax season
The dawn of a new calendar
year often marks the end of the
sometimes hectic holiday sea-
son. This time of year marks a
return to normalcy for many
families, as the kids go back to
school and parents return to
work.
The month of January also
serves as a great time to start
preparing for tax season. While
the deadline to file returns may
be several months away, get-
ting a head-start allows men
and women the chance to
organize their tax documents
so they aren’t racing against a
deadline come April. The fol-
lowing are a handful of ways to
start preparing for your returns
now.
Find last year’s return. You
will need information from last
year’s return in order to file
this year, so find last year’s
return and print it out if you
plan to hire a professional to
work on your return.
Gather dependents’ infor-
mation. While you might know
your own Social Security num-
ber by heart, if you have
dependents, you’re going to
need their information as well.
New parents or adults who
started serving as their elderly
parents’ primary caretakers
over the last year will need
their kids’ and their folks’
Social Security numbers. If
you do not have these numbers
upon filing, your return will
likely be delayed and you
might even be denied poten-
tially substantial tax credits.
Gather your year-end
financial statements. If you
spent the last year investing,
Tax time is here and once
again AARP will provide free tax
preparation service for senior cit-
izens and low-income taxpayers.
This service will be available
every Monday and Thursday
(including holidays) from 9:30
a.m. to 2 p.m. starting Feb. 1
until April 14 in the Bromley
Room of the Siuslaw Public
Library. In addition, this service
will be available on Saturday,
April 9.
nal
additio
cost!
P
S
N E S
U S I
Taxes don’t need to be a cause for worry. From preparing documents ahead of time
to contacting all the right people, there are things you can do before April 15.
then you will have to pay taxes
on any interest earned. Interest
earned on the majority of sav-
ings accounts is also taxable,
so gather all of your year-end
financial statements from your
assorted accounts in one place.
Doing so will make filing your
return, whether you do it your-
self or work with a profession-
al, go more quickly.
Speak with your mortgage
lender. Homeowners should
receive forms documenting
their mortgage interest pay-
ments for the last year, as the
money paid in interest on your
home or homes is tax
deductible. If these forms are
I L E
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Glossy
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your tax preparation specialist
now. As April 15 draws closer,
tax preparers’ schedules get
busier and busier. The earlier
you book your appointment,
the more likely you are to get a
favorable time for that meet-
ing. In addition, if you have
gathered all of the information
you need by early February,
then booking your appointment
early means you can file earlier
and receive any return you
might be eligible for that much
quicker.
Tax season might not be
right around the corner, but it’s
never too early to start prepar-
ing your return. —Metro
FREE BOOKLET
Advertising Deadline: February 8, 2016
Publication Date: February 27, 2016
2 0 1 5
Since
1986
30TH
SS
BUSINE RY
ECT N O GUIDE
IR
D RE
LOCATIO
&
❘
not received in a timely man-
ner, speak with your lender.
You might even be able to
download them from your
lender’s secure website.
Make a list of your charita-
ble contributions. Charitable
contributions, no matter how
small, are tax deductible.
While it’s easiest to maintain a
list of all charitable donations
you make as the year goes on,
if you have not done that, then
you can make one now. Look
for receipts of all contributions,
contacting any charities you
donated to if you misplaced
any receipts.
Book an appointment with
them into sharing private infor-
mation.
Scammers often leave an
“urgent” callback request.
The IRS reminds taxpayers
that it will never:
call to demand immediate
payment, nor will the agency call
about taxes owed without first
having mailed you a bill;
demand that you pay taxes
without giving you the opportu-
nity to question or appeal the
amount they say you owe;
require you to use a specific
payment method for your taxes,
such as a prepaid debit card;
ask for credit or debit card
numbers over the phone; or
threaten to bring in local
police or other law-enforcement.
Fraudulent calls where the
IRS is mentioned can be reported
to the Treasury Inspector
General for Tax Administration
at 1-800-366-4484. For more
information on scams being
tracked by the IRS, visit
www.irs.gov.
Business Profi le
ANNUAL
PLUS
An aggressive and sophisticat-
ed phone scam targeting taxpay-
ers has been making the rounds
throughout the country, includ-
ing the Florence area.
According to the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS), callers
claim to be employees of the
IRS, but are not. These con
artists can sound convincing
when they call. They use fake
names and bogus IRS identifica-
tion badge numbers. They may
know a lot about their targets,
and they usually alter the caller
ID to make it look like the IRS is
calling.
Victims are told they owe
money to the IRS and it must be
paid promptly through a pre-
loaded debit card or wire trans-
fer. If the victim refuses to coop-
erate, they are then threatened
with arrest, deportation or sus-
pension of a business or driver’s
license. In many cases, the caller
becomes hostile and insulting.
Or, victims may be told they
have a refund due to try to trick
COURTESY PHOTO
CE
FLOREN
B
The library is at 1460 Ninth
St. in Florence.
Please bring your return from
last year (including tax docu-
ments), a photo ID and Social
Security card(s) in addition to
your 2015 tax information.
Parking is available in the lot
across the street from Cross
Road Assembly of God Church.
Note that there may be days
when it is necessary to limit the
number of taxpayers processed.
Beware of IRS phone scam
2016 Florence Area
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