By now you should have received most, if not all of your forms 1099. These are the forms the banks and other financial institutions send you telling you how much income you need to report on your tax return. Are they correct? How do you know? Do you just trust them? You pay tax dollars depending upon how much income they tell you to report. Shouldn't you know if the numbers are right?
Match year-to-date information
These same financial institutions send you a statement every month (if you've gone green and don't get a mailing, that's great, but you need to look at them). Take the December statement and make sure the year to date number matches the form 1099. If you use Quicken or some other bookkeeping software, print your own year to date numbers and make sure they match the 1099s.
What if the number is wrong?
If the numbers do not agree with what you think they should be, call the financial institution and have them send you and the IRS a corrected 1099. Please do not ignore the fact that the numbers are different and put your number on the tax return. If you do, the IRS computer matching program will find you and send you a note asking you to explain the difference.
It's your money. Take a few extra minutes to get it right.
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