Tools for the Taxing Season

There's something kind of compulsively consumer-ish to thinking that you can buy your way out of your problems, but when it comes to getting organized for tax time, I'll try anything.

I'm not going to rehash the major players in the tax software game—Intuit TurboTax, Microsoft Money, and H&R Block's TaxCut. They're all excellent, and using any one of them is better than using none. Even if you have an accountant, preparing your return using a guided program helps you think of things you may have not considered and helps you organize.

So, other tools that might help?

Neat Receipts: I'm a recent convert to Neat Receipts, and while some of the software seems slow and cumbersome and my installation was a bit of a nuisance, once you get this puppy going, it's life-changing. Not only will it scan your receipts, but it's smart enough to categorize receipts into the appropriate tax categories. For instance, it recognizes American Airlines as travel, Staples as office, and more. It does business cards and documents as well. Exports files directly to TaxCut, TurboTax, or Excel ($230).

In the same vein, Planon offers the new Wireless Printstik. A bit more expensive at $300, the Printstik prints from your smart phone or computer via a Bluetooth connection. The Printstik has its own built-in paper supply. Imagine entering your receipts into your telephone and printing them out on your Printstik, for example. I haven't tested this unit out yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

You might find this a bit too Martha, but the Dymo label makers could make an organized person out of you. Once you're in the swing of labeling all of your financial folders, you'll probably end up wandering your home labeling anything that doesn't move. At $30 it's a solid and amusing investment. For a larger screen display and quick-access keys try the new LabelManager 210D and LabelManager 220P.

You could use your fingers or the Windows built-in calculator, but my guess is that you'll key in numbers much faster with a standalone calculator. The Kensington Wireless Notebook Keypad includes a wireless USB receiver, a numeric keypad/calculator, and an optical mouse all in a handy set ($59.99).

H&R Block TaxCut 2007 Premium Federal + State Flash Drive (Win): If you want to take your tax software from home to the accountant's office then here's the ticket. Kingston teamed up with H&R Block to offer this $30 USB. The drive comes with H&R TaxCut Deluxe and 256MB of storage.