I’m thinking about how an app dashboard for taxes could be really cool. You’ll see how income types and federal rules fit together, along with monthly earnings, withholding, and tax projections.
Income sources and laws
An app dashboard for taxes would be incredible. It would capture every income source and withholding, including stocks: anything that generates income or has tax implications. It would include marriage status, kids, and contract expenses. We’d connect to YNAB to track expenses.
What else could it do? Interviewing you, for example. Maggie has lots of good ideas, by the way. I need to check any income sources like property, sole proprietor, S Corp, W-2, or stocks.
This is perfect for anyone trying to start a business or running a small business with an S Corp or sole proprietor, or even if they’re 1099. There are so many situations where this would be helpful. I need to understand current laws about the standard deduction and how many credits you get per kid federally.
Monthly tracking and projections
It’s monthly, tracking up to October. I record how much I’ve earned and how much has been withheld. Then it projects forward. If my W-2 stays the same, if my business expenses stay the same, if my rental property keeps generating the same, it shows where I stand. It tells me if I’m ahead or behind on what I’m setting aside for taxes. I always have a live end-of-month update.
Past tax reports and health check
It needs to look at past tax reports. For us, carryover losses matter, so it must include what’s from the last year or two that affects how we file this year. It’s great.
There should be an indicator, a health check, showing if we’re owing or getting back payments from the government. If we’re owing, there’s a roadmap. I have a line item for rental property taxes, family taxes, and business taxes.
If there are other places where we store cash for taxes, there needs to be a spot to account for that too.
Are we ahead? Are we going to owe some amount, but hey, you’ve already saved that amount plus more, so you’re good. You have a good cushion, for example.