The Ultimate 7-Step Guide to Overcome Tax Procrastination

Benjamin Franklin once said, “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” You’re not alone if you’ve been delaying the inevitable by waiting to file your taxes until the last minute. Many professionals struggle with procrastination, preventing them from swiftly tackling their responsibilities.

However, if you can overcome procrastination around filing your taxes now, you can prevent immense stress later. Here are seven steps to take.

1. Understand Your Procrastination

You can’t solve a problem without knowing its source. So, what’s really causing your procrastination?

People procrastinate to avoid a painful situation (in this case, the pain of filing taxes). This avoidance works until the stress becomes worse than the pain of completing taxes. If you had finished the taxes sooner, you would have eliminated the stress immediately rather than prolonging and increasing it.

2. Find Motivation

To enhance your motivation, leverage your fundamental drivers of pain and pleasure. Consider the consequences of not filing your taxes on time, such as incurring late fees. On the flip side, motivate yourself by focusing on the pleasure aspect. If you anticipate a refund, visualize the joy of that extra cash. Even if you owe additional taxes, view it as a fortunate outcome of having had income opportunities.

3. Remove Distractions

Make a plan to stay focused on your taxes. When you encounter distractions, keep your eyes on the plan to stay on course. Set aside time when you’re not working to clear the clutter from your desk, eliminate excessive noise, and tend to any pressing messages that might bother you while you’re working.

Your body can also distract you. Prepare to file taxes by getting adequate sleep, eating a nutritious meal, staying hydrated, and exercising to optimize your energy.

4. Prep Your Materials

Come prepared. This will make the entire process much less stressful, and you won’t be left rushing around looking for that 1099 that you received in the mail months ago and just left lying somewhere in the house.

According to TaxSlayer, you’ll need to compile the following documents:

• Identification for everyone included on your tax return (social security or tax ID numbers, plus dates of birth)
• Form W-2 wage and tax statements
• Bank or financial institution statements
• Last year’s state refund amount
• Any and all 1099s
• Notice 6419 (if you have dependents)
• Self-employment and business records (if you have a business, these include business expense records, quarterly estimated tax payment receipts, home office expense records, and mileage records)
• Medical expense receipts and records, including proof of unreimbursed medical expenses, health insurance coverage, and Social Security benefits
• Proof of charitable donations
• Property tax receipts

5. Get Help

While many professionals do their own taxes, if filing is stressful for you, you don’t have to do it alone. You can hire either a certified public accountant (CPA) or an enrolled agent (EA) to assist, either someone at a private or local firm or someone at a nationwide firm (such as H&R Block).

6. Know What to Expect

If you hire an accountant or agent to file your taxes, you can alleviate some stress by knowing what to expect. Ask the accountant or agent how their process works so you can visualize what will occur at the meeting. In most instances, the meeting is generally just the accountant or agent asking you questions regarding your income and expenses. You may also have to return to the office to sign off on the final filing.

7. Give Yourself a Deadline

Tasks without deadlines are the most dangerous because there’s no outside force pushing you to complete them. While the government gives you a deadline for filing your taxes, no one’s putting you on a deadline to compile all your paperwork or hire a CPA.

Set a deadline to give yourself wiggle room in case any issues arise. For example, while meeting with an accountant, you may realize you forgot some records and need to find them. Hold yourself accountable with an outside force, such as a coach.

The Bottom Line

When you overcome procrastination around filing your taxes, you can prevent immense stress later. Even after filing your taxes, don’t let procrastination sabotage your life.

To help you identify where and why you’re avoiding stressful situations and help you navigate your inclination to procrastinate, consider working with an Arootah coach. To learn more, schedule a free 30-minute introductory coaching call.