You’ve put it off long enough, but now it’s time to get your tax forms in order—pronto. If you’re doing your own return at the last minute, make the process quicker, more accurate and a little less painful with these guidelines.

Pull it together. Before you open your tax program or start filling in that 1040 form, get organized. You’ll save time later if you don’t have to run around looking for missing information. Mom of three Lisa Greene-Lewis, a CPA and blog editor for Turbotax, suggests doing a search-and-rescue for these items:

Important forms: Beyond the W-2 from your and maybe your spouse’s employer, you’ll also need 1099 forms for other income (if you’re self-employed, for instance) and for interest/dividends from financial accounts. If you have a mortgage or home equity loan/line of credit, you should have received 1098 forms. If you’re missing any of these, download them from each financial institution’s website.

Key receipts: you’ll need written proof from organizations to which you’ve made charitable donations of money or goods. you may also want to locate receipts for significant medical bills, child care expenses not processed through a company flexible spending account, job-search expenses, college tuition payments and other possible deductions.

Go e-form. Electronic programs like Turbotax, H&R Block at Home and Jackson Hewitt online are great for last-minute filers. Fast, and often more accurate (they calculate), they can suggest deductions you might miss. The internal revenue Service (irs.gov) also offers free and inexpensive e-filing options, plus forms you can fill in electronically. If your return is simple enough to use a 1040EZ or 1040A form, try a smartphone version of your tax program. Snap a photo of your W-2, answer some questions, review your return, file it and you’re done.

Review last year’s return. if you used the same tax prep program last year, it should import 2011 data to help you answer this year’s questions. If you’re using a paper form, look at last year’s return to check for things you might have forgotten—income sources, a change in dependents, bank accounts with interest to report and so on.

Check for common mistakes. A surprisingly frequent one, says Greene-Lewis, is mistyping a Social Security number. Just one transposed digit can delay the processing of your return. other goofs: forgetting to report even a small amount of savings-account interest, which could trigger an IRS audit; and overvaluing charitable donations of clothes or home goods. To confirm accepted values for commonly donated items, search “Valuation Guide” at salvationarmyusa.org.

File for an extension if you’re tardy. If you can’t file your return by April 15, fill out and file federal Form 4868: Application for Automatic Extension (irs.gov). This gives you until October 15 to file your paperwork. However, there’s no extension for payments. So make a reasonable estimate of taxes owed and pay as much as possible by April 15, suggests Greene-Lewis. That way, you’ll avoid additional interest and penalties. Also check with your state tax agency to find out whether they require an extension form.