It’s okay to accept that doing taxes for your small business on time is just a lot to handle.
Tax season is here, and for most of you business owners, you have three more deadlines throughout the year to worry about. It’s time to work with an accountant. Sit back and allow Timmer Accounting and Tax Service of Holland, MI, to do your taxes for you.
How To Save Time and Money
To put it simply, when you hire an accountant to do your taxes, you are free to do your job, and your accountant is free to do theirs. In the end, your taxes are taken care of on time, and believe it or not; you save money. To put it into perspective, tax auditors are highly knowledgeable on the system and what is deductible. With their experience, they are the most equipped to bring you a higher tax return. They also make great advisors on big financial decisions. While working with the information you obtain for them, they can give you advice for the next year, thus saving you even more money in the long run.
Furthermore, it takes 8.8 hours for business owners to ready and file their own taxes on average. Without an accountant, that is almost nine hours less spent on your own company matters. What’s even more convenient is that Timmer Accounting agents are all licensed tax practitioners and have access to company logs. Having an individual to do all of your company’s bookkeeping and data entry saves you even more time, and as an owner of a small business, you know very well that time is money.
What You Can Do to Have the Smoothest Tax Season
Here are the ins and outs of getting your taxes ready for the best outcome. Firstly, understand precisely what is and isn’t deductible, especially when it comes to entertainment, travel, and home offices. There can be some very fine lines in these areas; make sure to keep records of all of those expenses. Secondly, consider making large purchases with a credit card right before you file your taxes. Records will come back in your invoices, making it much easier to keep track of purchases. Moreover, rather than missing deductible opportunities due to a lack of cash, you can use the card and pay after you file.
Be Prepared For Quarterly Deadlines.
Are you aware that you likely have four tax deadlines rather than the common, annual one? If you expect to owe more than $1,000 in income taxes, then you are one of those proprietors. While you have more frequent deadlines coming your way, you do get the satisfaction of having 75% of your taxes paid by the final tax date. For this year, those deadlines will be:
- April 15, 2021
- June 15, 2021
- September 15, 2021
- January 18, 2022
Additionally, be attentive to due dates for federal income taxes withheld from you and your employees. If you reported less than $50,000 last year, deposit these monthly, otherwise semi-weekly.
What Your Accountant Needs From You:
Refer to this list when trying to remember what to gather for your tax practitioner:
- Last year’s tax return: This is simply to provide a decent understanding of what you deduct.
- Tax forms: These depend on the type of your corporation; refer to Forms and Instructions – Filing and Paying Business Taxes for guidance.
- Payroll data: This includes health insurance records, your employees’ W-2, W-3, 1099-MISC’s, as well any material regarding bonuses.
- Inventory total: Include the results of your end-of-the-year inventory count.
- Information pertaining to stocks & bonds, deductible expenses, loans, and assets: Organize together your receipts/reports related to assets, loan agreements, documentation regarding the PPP, EIDL, and EIDL Advance, mileage logs, travel tickets, itineraries, documentation of stocks & bonds, investments, and donations.
- Personal Info: Report your legal name along with your business name and Employer Identification Number. Be sure to include your current address and social security number.
- Financial business reports: Bring your Income Statement, balance sheet, statement of cash flows, general ledger, and trial balance report.
- Income and expense records: Gather your receipts, bills, bank statements, deposit slips, sales invoices, credit card statements, and your 1098 Mortgage Interest & Property Taxes Form.
- The before mentioned is obviously still a lot of data to remember. To make sure you’re prepared to meet with your actuary, ask them for a checklist beforehand, and stay organized throughout the year.
April 15 is approaching; are your business taxes ready? (While the federal individual income tax deadline is extended to May 17th, to date, the business deadline is still April 15th, 2021). As long as you work with an accountant, stay organized, and pay attention to deadlines, tax season need not cause anxiety. Relax and focus on your business duties while your accountant handles the hard stuff. Contact us today!
