Tax Tools to Make Your Life Easier

When you sit down to work on your taxes, you'll need to be properly equipped.

Here's what to get to smooth the way you sort through all your forms.

Organizational tools

It's always a good idea to keep your documentation together in a place that's organized and easy to find. If you start to sort out your paperwork early, you'll be less likely to feel the crunch come April 15. Office DepotODP offers a Tax Organizer Kit ($19.99) that includes hanging and file folders and a poly envelope, along with a range of common tax forms that one might need for personal and business filing.

Maximize your deductions and verify figures

The Internal Revenue Service expects more than 80 million taxpayers to file online in 2008. It may pay to do so; they suggest that returns done online, while being extra fast, are also more accurate, as additional checks are built into their software. Moreover, filers with an adjusted gross income of less than $54,000 can take advantage of IRS Free File.

If you want to check deductions on your own, use software like TurboTax, which provides offerings ranging from a free version for 1040EZ filers to a Home and Business Edition which runs for $74.95.

The Deluxe edition, which runs for $29.95, searches for over 350 deductions automatically. All TurboTaxINTU software besides the free version offers an audit support center.

H&R Block'sHRB TaxCut Online software runs from $12.71 to $38.21. Its Premium Edition provides Schedule C features, and advice on donations, rentals, dividends and capital gains, along with its own audit support.

If it's important to you to do your own math, a printing calculator like the Ativa AT-P2000, the CanonCAJ P160 DH, or the Casio HR100TM might come in handy.

Safeguard yourself from identity theft

As you bring together all of your receipts and other documents, you should be extra vigilant in protecting yourself from identity thieves. For sending documents, use #10 (business size) security envelopes. Internet security software is also critical.

Make sure that yours is up to date -- BitDefender, NortonSYMC Internet Security, and Panda are popular choices.

And for those papers that you no longer need, but which might give away personal information you'd rather keep private, invest in a shredder.

Save your documentation

If you've done all of your filing online, but like to have the proper documentation in paper, on April 15, StaplesSPLS Copy & Print Centers nationwide will offer up to 20 pages of free copies for 2007 tax returns.

Keep your paperwork safe from fire or theft with fire resistant security storage containers from Sentry Safe (range in price depending on the model).

If you're content to save your documentation electronically, you still need to remember to back up your information. External hard drives, portable drives or USB flash drives are a good idea. SanDiskSNDK offers 4GB USB Flash drives for $39.99, which should more than suffice for your tax needs.