How to Make Tax Time Easier

Editor’s Note: This post is brought to you by Johna Jenkins, a nurse practitioner, and the co-founder of our sister brand A Plan for Health.

Happy Tax Day 2021, friends! Every spring, when tax time rolls around, are you scrambling to find receipts and add up medical expenses? Are you wondering why I’m even asking you that question?

Yes, today is the federal tax deadline in the United States. Which means it’s the perfect time to start preparing for next year’s tax deadline. Before you throw your phone or computer (I hate tax day too!), I wanted to share how to make tax time a little easier. Your future self will thank you!

This spring I was chatting with one of our team members, Laura, about our Medical Expense Tracker Notebook. As a mom of three, she has a lot to keep up with. She’s been using the Medical Expense Log from our Wellness Planner Collection to keep track of her family’s medical expenses. I’ve asked her to fill us in on how she’s using the expense tracker and I’m excited to share all her tips and tricks with you today!

If you have no idea what you spend on medical expenses in a given year, you might be missing out on a medical expenses tax deduction. Even if you don’t think you’ll qualify for a deduction, it’s good to know where your money is going. Having all your (and your family’s) health expenses listed in one place is a good start! All those little expenses add up, and an unexpected event might mean you do end up qualifying by the end of the year. 

Enter the best tool I have found to help make take time just a little bit easier: the Expense Tracker Notebook from A Plan for Health!

This portable, A5 sized notebook is just the right size to tuck in the front of your planner or to keep wherever you pay your bills. An extra fifteen seconds to jot down an expense when it occurs might save you hours of time later looking for a receipt when you are wondering, “Didn’t I already pay that bill?”

Keep things in chronological order or designate a page for each family member – there are plenty of pages to organize it whichever way works the best for you.

Whichever way you organize your Medical Expense Tracker Notebook, you’ll thank yourself the next time you are scrambling to remember how much something cost, whether or not a bill got paid, or adding up all your medical expenses at tax time. It’s the best way I’ve found to make tax time a little easier!

Questions about how the Expense Tracker works? Tried it and loved it? Share below, we’d love to hear!