Straight talk about your money

Filing goes faster — and your refund lands sooner — when everything is in one place. Bring photo ID and Social Security or ITIN cards for you and every dependent, all W-2s and 1099s (including 1099-K from apps like Cash App or PayPal), last year's return, and any tuition (1098-T) or mortgage interest (1098) statements.

Self-employed? Add your income summary, expense totals by category, mileage log, and any 1099-NEC you received. If you bought health coverage through the marketplace, you need Form 1095-A — without it the return cannot be filed correctly.

Mileage is the biggest one. Driving to a client, the bank, the supply store, or the post office counts — but only if you tracked it. A simple app or notebook with date, purpose, and miles is enough.

Also commonly missed: the business-use portion of your phone and internet, a home office that is used regularly and exclusively for work, software subscriptions, bank and merchant processing fees, continuing education, and startup costs from the year you opened.

The usual causes: a second job or side income with no withholding, a dependent who aged out of the Child Tax Credit, less time worked during the year, or withholding changes on a new W-4.

The fix is not filing differently — it is planning. We look at your withholding mid-year so April is predictable instead of painful.

Disputes work when information is inaccurate, incomplete, outdated, or cannot be verified — wrong balances, accounts that are not yours, duplicate collections, dates that do not match. Accurate, verified negative items generally stay until they age off.

Beware of anyone promising a set number of points. What moves a score reliably is payment history, keeping card balances under about 30 percent of the limit, and time. We handle the disputes and give you the plan for the rest.

Once a month: reconcile the business account, photograph or forward every receipt into one folder, and separate personal spending out of the business card. That is it.

Business owners who do this get a real profit-and-loss statement, qualify for loans without scrambling, and pay us less at tax time because there is nothing to clean up.

Red flags: no PTIN, a fee based on a percentage of your refund, promises of a big refund before seeing your documents, asking you to sign a blank return, or filing without letting you review the numbers.

You are legally responsible for what is on your return. Always get a copy, always review it, and always work with someone who will still answer the phone in July.