Organizing Adult ADHD / ADD for Taxes

by | Mar 1, 2011 | Organizing ADHD | 0 comments

Debt.

You don’t know it yet but, at the end of this article, you’re going to feel a lot more confident about how an ADHD Adult can get organized for taxes.

Adult ADHD and getting organized to file taxes are not a good combination.  Many of my clients, especially single people or two-ADHD couples, are burdened with guilt and worry about late or unfilled taxes.

It’s no surprise. “Please don’t make me do it! Anything but boring details, organization and follow-through,” wails the ADHD brain.

Many ADHD adults procrastinate on taxes because their tax information is so disorganized the idea of sitting down to complete the taxes is overwhelming. It doesn’t help that completing tax forms is boring and requires attention to details – two things painful for people with ADHD.

Sure there’s a huge April 15th deadline looming (actually this year it’s April 18), but for many, that’s not enough incentive to get it together enough to file their taxes. They’d rather file extensions or hope they don’t get caught if they don’t file their taxes at all.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could quickly and easily get your tax information together?

Here are a few organizing tips for ADHD adults filing taxes.

The first thing you need to remember is there are actually are TWO parts to taxes:

  1. The ongoing record keeping and paper collection you need to do year-round, and
  2. Gathering all the information and preparing the tax forms to submit to the government in April.

Breaking the idea of taxes into these two parts simplifies the process and reduces the overwhelm.

Today let’s get into the year-round organizing part of getting ready for taxes. Sure this would have been more helpful around January 2010, but I have ADHD too, so give me a break.

Step 1. Get clear on exactly what information you need to collect.

Basically what taxable income and deductible expenses will you report?

This varies for each person depending on their work and investment situation and the deductions they can take. No matter how complex, the year-round record-keeping needs are basically the same. You have to hold on to back up information in case the IRS wants to see it.

Step 2. Create a way to capture any tax-related details from the bills you pay.

I highly recommend using financial software such as Quicken for capturing your ongoing deductible expenses.

When you pay a bill for something that’s deductible, take a moment to enter it into the program. This greatly simplifies tax time because most of the information you need is on your computer.

If you can’t remember to update your financial information create reminders and routines to regularly keep on top of these steps. Routines got you down? A coach can help.

Step 3. Make an EASY TO USE holding place for all tax-related paperwork.

Don’t worry about setting up a nice file system or keeping the papers in a drawer. I recommend a simple vertical file holder with manilla folders that sits on your desktop or counter.

Keep it simple. Your goal is to have a place to put your tax-related information as it comes in. Not to have a beautiful, magazine-worthy organizing system.

If you have to open a drawer and find a file, you likely won’t do it. The fewer steps it takes you to collect the information the better.

Step 4. File tax papers as they arrive.

When you pay a tax-related bill or statement, or when tax-related papers arrive in the mail, simply cram them into the vertical file. You can sort them at tax time when you’re inspired by the looming deadline.

This system isn’t pretty but it works. Remember part of outsmarting your ADHD is to keep things as simple as possible.

The Last Word

This is the tax system I’ve used for years. It’s simple and I can pull my tax stuff together for our CPA with little sweat and hassle.

Sure it took me a while to develop the habit of using Quicken. Now I’ve got the routine down: pay a bill, enter it in Quicken, cram the bill in the file. Not pretty; but it works.

At tax time all I have to do is run my Quicken reports and sort the papers.

Of course, my husband and our CPA raise their eyebrows at my messy system. They prefer beautifully labeled color-coded file drawers. What do you expect? They both suffer from A. S. S. (Attention Surplus Syndrome). Don’t worry. I love them anyway. They can’t help themselves

To Your ADD Success,

P.S. Don’t let procrastination, hesitation or fear stop you from managing your ADHD. I’ve got two spaces open for new coaching clients. Email me to set up a time to talk – no hassles or obligation

0 Comments

Welcome to ADHD Success

Tired of struggling with ADHD? You’re in the right place. ADHD Success is loaded with free, practical tips to help you get organized, manage your time, and live more easily with Adult ADHD. Like what you read? Sign up for the newsletter now! No Spam. I promise!

Check Out the Kick Some ADHD Podcast:

kick some adhd podcast

Like Dana on Facebook: