Most of us want a tax rebate when we file our annual returns, but there are a few of us who just want to break even and not owe any money to the IRS. Whatever your situation is, you need to decide now whether or not you’ll need tax help. Don’t wait until April 15th to realize that you need tax help, start organizing your documents now to get a picture of how your tax situation is shaping up.

First, gather all of your charitable donation receipts, expense receipts, and paycheck stubs. You might not have your mortgage statements or W2 forms yet, but you can still gather the figures for what you paid in property taxes, medical expenses, and childcare in advance. By reviewing just a few figures and comparing them to the IRS taxation chart, you should be able to get a good idea of whether to expect a tax rebate. Then, if after your initial review of the documentation that you have, if you feel that you’re going to owe more money to the IRS, you might want to consider getting tax help. Tax help can take many forms: tax-preparation services like H&R Block or Jackson-Hewitt, or a certified public accountant.

If you just don’t have a clue about what documents you need, what deductions you can claim, and how to read and understand the forms, you should seek tax help rather than run the risk of making a mistake and incurring a penalty.

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