One stressful part of owning a business revolves around tax season. However, when you put some planning into motion and prepare for it, you will find that it isn’t something that has to be so dreaded. When it comes to tax season, having a structure in place that help to keep you disciplined will help you exponentially. Mark Dicus & Company is here to share some tips to help business owners prepare for tax season and lower their stress.
Tax Season Preparation Checklist
When you follow the checklist below, you will find that it helps you avoid things like penalties, missed deductions, and noncompliance.
– Gather Records: There are several financial records that will be necessary for your taxes. These important documents include income statements, balance sheets, bank statements, payroll records, expense receipts, and loan statements. Keeping up with bookkeeping will make gathering these records a breeze.
– Reconcile Accounts: You need to make sure all of your records and your bank statements are showing the same thing. Transactions need to be properly recorded to help reduce discrepancies in your tax return.
– Review Deductions: As a business owner, you are going to be eligible for many different deductions. You want to take advantage of as many as possible. Some of them might include office supplies and equipment, business meetings and travel, home office expenses, mileage, employee salaries and benefits and more. Make sure you are doing everything you can to lower your taxable income.
– Organize Employee Information: Whether you have employees, work with contractors, or both, you will need to make sure those records are organized as well. This includes your employee W-2 forms and independent contractor 1099 forms.
– Check for Tax Law Changes: Tax laws seem to be every changing. Make sure you are working with an accountant that can keep you up to date with any changes that will impact your business and the way you do things.
– Prepare for Audits: As a business owner, it isn’t guaranteed that you won’t be audited at some point. You need to be ready for it when it comes. You can feel prepared for this possibility when you have kept detailed and organized records of your business and transactions.
– Work with a Professional: It can be difficult to keep everything straight when you are preparing for taxes as a business owner. It can be hugely beneficial when you turn to a tax professional to help you prepare accordingly. It will be well worth the investment to ensure everything is done properly.
Tax Preparation, Filing, Planning & More in Salt Lake City, St. George, West Valley City, Provo, Orem, West Jordan & Greater Cedar City, Utah
If you are looking for someone to help you prepare your business taxes, you can turn to the professionals at Mark Dicus & Company to help you take advantage of as many deductions and credits as possible. We want to help you so you don’t leave money on the table that is rightfully yours. Call us today!