Sort those tax papers so you don't lose money

If, in the frenzy of searching for tax documents, you come across a forgotten uncashed check or a rebate form you never sent in, you're not alone.

Plenty of others report losing money as a result of paperwork clutter. Nearly 25 percent of 1,100 consumers polled said they had misplaced critical financial documents, with 16 percent saying they had lost money because of it, according to December research by the Consumer Reports National Research Center.

"Only 16 percent?" said Jennifer Ryan, a professional organizer in Kings Park. Ryan said she can't think of a job on which "we didn't find money people didn't know they had."

For April tax filers, the mission at hand is to make sure you don't forfeit deductions or credits on this year's taxes, so get those stacks into shape.

Presort: Don't study every piece of paper. Instead, quickly group like items with like items, says Linda Goldfarb, a professional organizer in East Meadow. Make piles of credit card statements, bank statements, anything that says "important tax document inside."

Further basics: Next, filter out only those documents related to 2009 taxes, says Shirley Feldman, a master tax adviser in the Hempstead and Lake Success offices of H&R Block. She tells of clients coming in with boxes and bags of several years' worth of documents, and of a husband and wife, each of whom owned a business, who had to sort through a bag of "his" and "her" documents.

Checklist: Once you file this year, lighten next year's load by creating a checklist. As related documents arrive, stuff them in one big envelope or folder marked "taxes." That's Feldman's parting gift to clients each year: a checklist and a nice big envelope.