The order routine for a relaxed tax return

Do you still have mixed feelings about taxes?

Do you immediately think of unsorted documents?
are you afraid to deal with your paperwork?
do you simply not know what you can deduct from your taxes?

We help you to gain a new perspective on the topic of taxes. From now on, you won’t flinch at the word tax return, but stay relaxed. Our goal is to help you find your documents quickly. We show you how to keep track of all relevant tax documents with filing systems and a simple routine.

We are Julia Schumann (filing coach & digitalisation expert) and Sandra Werner (filing coach & tax specialist). With our concentrated knowledge, we give you everything you need to prepare a tax return and keep your documents in order.

Why should you do a tax return?

By preparing your income tax return, you can get some money back. Therefore, it is important to deal with this issue.

Topics such as finance or taxes may seem daunting because they are so rarely discussed or taught openly. However, as soon as you sit down and deal with the topic, the first big challenge is already taken. These days you have so many ways to educate yourself: Listen to podcasts, watch YouTube videos or read textbooks. After a short time, the topic will lose its horror.

If the mere thought of easy money hasn’t already motivated you, here are some other tips to make your tax return stress-free and quick – without the hassle of searching for receipts and paper chaos!

Prepare your tax return with these 4 tips:

Tip: Create a tax folder

Start by gathering all your documents and putting them in a folder. Check whether you are more of a digital or analogue person. If your documents are more in digital form, perhaps because you already receive them in digital form or you have already scanned your documents, then create a new folder called Taxes on your PC. However, if you still have many of your documents in paper form at home, then create an extra file folder labelled Taxes. This way you always know where the documents for your tax return are and don’t have to search for them. It also gives you peace of mind if you know where everything is from the start.

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Tip: Create categories

But what belongs to the tax documents in the first place? Generally speaking, there are four categories into which the documents can be divided: Living expenses, finances, insurance and labour costs. No matter whether you do your tax return yourself or hand it over to a tax advisor, divide your documents into categories. It is best to do this in the order in which you will need them to prepare your income tax return. To do this, you can use the income tax forms you need for your return as a guideline (Mantelbogen, außergewöhnliche Belastungen, haushaltsnahe Aufwendungen, Vorsorgeaufwand, Anlage N, Anlage KAP, etc.). This will not only save you a lot of time, but you will also know right away whether a document is missing that may still need to be submitted. It’s best to create your own personal checklist and print it out every year to coincide with the processing of your tax return. This way you have an overview of what you have already collected and what is still missing.

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Tip: Introduce year-round order routines

Invoices, cash receipts and supporting documents arrive at your house in a variety of ways throughout the year. Putting them in order during the current year for the upcoming tax return can save you a lot of time and searching. Here are our tips:

The slip box in the hallway
You don’t have to file all your documents straight away, but you can first relax and collect them in a clipboard. It makes sense to have a place near the front door so that your incoming mail has a place to go and is not scattered around. This way you won’t be tempted to file your incoming mail somewhere else.
You can be creative here: If you don’t have a storage basket in the hallway, you can also attach a brochure rack to the wall and use it as a paper parking space.

Collect cash receipts properly
Reference books, office supplies, work clothes – if you don’t order everything online, you will need to sort your receipts regularly. For example, get into the habit of clearing your wallet, pockets and trouser pockets of receipts every time you get home.
Since the thermal paper of the receipts can fade after a while, you should make backup copies of the receipts by digitally filing scans or photos of them.

Sort out the paper tray regularly
Often we want to avoid doing things that seem unpleasant. But if we divide unpleasant tasks into sections, it is much easier to get them done because the end is foreseeable.

Set aside some time each week to work on your note box in the hallway. This way, you will stay in practice, have a better idea of time and your paperwork will always be up to date. Once you start processing your paperwork, simply take all the documents out of the hallway box and see which ones need to be processed and which ones just need to be filed. Remember the categories of your tax folder (tips 1 and 2).

Organise the email inbox aka. digital receipts
At the same time, you can also take a look at your email inbox. Look here to see what emails have arrived this week. If you have received messages with invoices that are relevant to your tax return, save them directly in the folder structure you have created.

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Tip: Backup data in the cloud

If you want to not only file your documents neatly, but also secure them at the same time, we highly recommend the memoresa portal. There you can easily upload your documents into the predefined structures, which gives you quick access. Moreover, you can access your documents from anywhere. You can not only store tax documents there, but also other important documents. For example, your ID cards, certificates or data for various accesses.

We hope these tips have given you clarity and certainty on the subject of taxes and finances. If you need more tips in the area of digitalisation, order or sustainability, please contact us: