• The more organized you are, the less time your taxes will take to prepare.A young woman holding a pen, doing her taxes image by Christopher Meder from Fotolia.com
  
  Preparing for your taxes is not necessarily a one-time-a-year activity. If you keep organized throughout the year, you will have all the documentation you need in a location that is easy to find. This will help reduce the amount of time that you spend preparing taxes. Remaining organized throughout the year can also help reduce the stress associated with preparing for your taxes, as you won't be scrambling to get the necessary paperwork.
  
  

Family Information

• Prepare a list of your family information that will be needed for your tax return. This will include any addresses that you have lived in during the year. You will also need to know the Social Security number for yourself, your spouse and any dependents that you will be claiming. If you are claiming education expenses, the name, address and tax identification number for the school will be needed.
  
  

Employment Documentation

• W-2 documents for your employers should be organized by individual to complete your tax return. If you have not received these by the end of the first week of February, contact the employer to get another copy sent. These forms will include the income earned, along with any taxes removed from pay throughout the year.
  
  

Supplemental Income Documents

• Not all of your money may be from wages reported on a W-2 form. Some private contracting work might be reported on a 1099 form. Documentation for interest earned from banking accounts will be sent to you from your bank. Other documents that indicate income could result from sale of a home, gambling winnings or stocks that were presented to you by your employer.
  
  

Home Office Information

• If you are using your home as an office, you will need to have information calculated to complete your home office tax deduction. This will include knowing what portion of your home is being used solely for business purposes. Keep in mind that this is needed to know what portion of home repairs may be considered as part of your office, as well as electricity and other utility expenses.
  
  

Child Care Information

• If you have paid for daycare during the year, and that income is reported to the IRS by the provider, you can receive a credit. You will need to have information about the provider including her address and tax identification number.
  
  

Review This Year's Tax Booklet

• Review the current year's tax booklet sent by the federal government and the state that you live in. Check these booklets for changes to tax laws that have occurred during the past year and will result in changes from how you calculated your taxes in the past. Having these books nearby when completing your taxes will also offer you step-by-step guidelines for each line of the tax forms you are completing.
  
  

Calculator

• If you are not using a software program to compute your taxes, you will need a calculator to complete your tax calculations. It's also a good idea to have one available even if using a software program, to ensure that calculations are correct.