Set the alarm on your Palm. But don't be late. Stop being disorganized During tax season, millions of taxpayers scramble to find records of their charitable contributions, magazine subscriptions, unreimbursed business expenses and other itemized deductions. This is dumb for two reasons. The less organized you are, the more time they spend putting your records in order, and the more you pay to have your taxes prepared.
Many accountants give their clients free record organizers.
Some of the annual tax manuals also offer organizers or tips on what you need to save and how. Generally speaking, maintaining good tax records requires little more than a file folder. And for each dollar claimed in deductions, the average taxpayer saves 30 cents. Kathy Kristof is a personal-finance columnist with the Los Angeles Times. She welcomes comments and suggestions, but regrets she cannot respond personally to every inquiry.