The end of the year is some of the busiest times of the year for everyone, but for different reasons. Some companies are gearing up for a big product launch or shopping run by their customers, and you might be looking forward to time off to spend with your families. You just need to make sure that you keep your eye on the bigger picture for your finances — there’s going to be taxes on the horizon.

The year closes on December 31st, but you don’t want to wait till the very end of the year to make sure that your tax documents are in order. If you are self-employed or if you have investment income, you’re going to want to make sure that you look into preparing a little earlier. However, even if you are a regular worker, you still need to make sure that you have a good idea of whether or not you will owe anything. In addition, you also want to make sure that you have your bank account info, and birth certificates and Social Security cards for every last one of your dependents ready. While it’s true that you might not need to prove anything, it’s better to have these documents ready than if you were to have to hunt around for them.

Business owners have do a lot of transactions need to remember that every last receipt that goes into their business needs to be accounted for. Sure, we know that it’s going to be a lot of paper but you really want to make sure that you keep every last piece of evidence behind your deductions and expenses. If you are audited and you don’t have those receipts, you’re going to find that you have a lot of problems down the road.

Now is the best time to make sure that you have everything together. When you have enough time to prepare, you can make sure that everything is well with your tax return. This is also a good time to look at your previous tax return and make sure that everything is in order. If there are errors, you can always file an amended return — it’s a good way to catch a return that went unnoticed because you were in a hurry.

It’s a great time to take action, especially when you’re feeling relaxed. Don’t let the real tax season creep up on you — take action today. Good luck out there!