What the Tech: Tax technologies

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Do you still save paper receipts and write down mileage for tax purposes? If so, you know it can take days to compile them all for your accountant or tax preparer.

Your smartphone camera can be a huge help when it comes to saving receipts. You’ll find many apps that will take and save photos of receipts. Most require a subscription and you can’t be too sure about privacy with some of them, these are safe and easy to use.

Evernote can scan and save receipts using its companion Scannable app. Scan the receipt with your camera, give it a name, and save it to a notebook in Evernote. At tax time, you won’t need all that paper but if you do, just print what you need or share the pdfs to your tax preparer.

iPhone users can do this with the Notes app. You can take a snapshot and save it as a photo, but I suggest scanning it instead in case you need to print it out. You can create a receipts folder and save them there to stay organized.

Android and iPhone users can use the app Google Keep to save receipts and share them with your tax preparer.

For small business owners and side hustlers, there’s Quickbooks. An app and website to help you organize receipts, travel expenses, utilities, taxes, and fees. At tax time, you can share it all with your accountant in an email.

Many people miss deducting mileage for business which is around 63-cents a mile. The app Mile IQ automatically detects when you’re driving so you don’t have to remember to open it. And it makes it easy to log miles as either personal or business. At the end of the year, MileIQ generates a mileage report for the IRS.

It’s easy to miss or forget qualified deductions if you don’t keep up with them during the year and if you’re ever audited you’ll need copies of the receipts, and you don’t need to have all of that paper around. These apps will do it for you.

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