Tick Tock Folks!

Well, now that we have all of the RRSP stuff out of the way, it's time concentrate on income tax. As you can see by the countdown banners on the side of this page, you probably have less time than you think to get things done.

By now, you should have all of your slips. Americans, your W2's, 1099's, etc should have been sent to you by January 31st. If you believe that you don't have all of your slips, contact the people that should have sent them right away. By law, you have to have these now.

Canadians, the deadline for you to have your T4, T5 etc.slips mailed to you was February 28th. You may not have received everything yet as the mail is sometimes slow but if you haven't received everything by sometime next week, contact the slips issuer. Don't file a return unless you are sure you have all of your slips. It will only delay processing your return.

Americans, if your tax returns are simple, you may be comfortable doing them yourself. If so, did you know that 90% of all American tax payers can file their taxes on line for free? Many software companys offer free filing if your income is below a certain level ro if your qualify in other areas. Go to the IRS web site at www.irs.gov to see the different on line programs that are available. I have personally tried the site at www.turbotax.com and found it quite easy to use. They guide you through the return with an interview format that helps you get all of the credits that are available for you.

One word of caution. US income tax form can be quite complicated and if your return is more than a few slips, you should see a tax professional before you file. A good accountant can save you more money than they cost.

In the next few weeks, we will be posting more articles about income tax so check back soon. Better yet, if you put your email in the "subscribe" box to the left of this article, you will be notified when a new posting is made. We promise that your email will be confidential and not sent to outside parties.

Happy tax preparing!