Tax Season: Preparation and Advice for Businesses

Today, I have a guest post.

Running your own business means you have many responsibilities, including managing the day-to-day operations and even paying quarterly and annual taxes. The best thing you can do is work with an accountant throughout the year to help you keep track of your business profits and losses. Of course, you should also work with them to help you prepare your taxes. Making financial decisions that affect your business and personal life without a consultant can put your business at risk. 

Every business should know a few things when it comes to taxes. So here are tax preparation and advice tips for businesses. 

Tax Season

Find the Right Accountant

Accountants do more than prepare your taxes; they should work with you throughout the year to track your income and expenses and ensure you’re not experiencing cash flow problems. 

If you don’t have enough funds to hire an accountant full-time, you can work with one on a consulting basis. However, consultants have other clients, so answering your questions and concerns might not be their number one priority. When you hire an accountant as your employee, they’ll be available throughout the entire workday to help answer your questions and ensure your finances are in order. 

Claim Your Income

When you prepare your taxes, you’ll give the IRS a copy of your 1099-MISC forms, allowing them to match your reported income against the information they’ve received. The income you report should be reported in any of the 1099 forms you’ve received. Not claiming all your income can put you at risk of an audit. Even if a client you work with doesn’t send you a 1099, you should report the income to ensure you’re following the rules, even when others are not. 

Any money you receive is considered income by the IRS. This includes business income and money earned through investments, such as stocks and cryptocurrency. 

Maintain Records

Recording keeping isn’t something you should only do once a year; instead, you should maintain proper records year-round to ensure your tax return is correct. Without maintaining your records, you might lose track of all the deductions you can claim. In addition, every business should have at least a basic version of tax software to help them track expenses. 

In addition to maintaining records, you should also aim to digitize everything you can to help you avoid losing necessary documentation. For example, each time you get a receipt, you should scan it and keep it in a folder on your computer or within your tax software, giving you a single place with all of your expenses organized. 

Keep Personal and Business Expenses Separate

Mixing your personal and business expenses can make record-keeping and taxes difficult. If the IRS audits your business, they’ll also have to look into your personal expenses because you haven’t separated them. You should always have a separate bank account for your business to track your expenses accurately.

Know Which Taxes You Should Pay

Regardless of whether they are employees or business owners, all people need to pay annual federal and state taxes. Business owners should also pay yearly taxes to cover their self-employment taxes. In addition, depending on the location of your business, you might also be subject to other taxes, including municipal and property taxes. If you’re unsure which types of taxes you’ll need to pay, consult an accountant who can tell you what you need to be prepared for. 

Understand Net vs. Gross Income

Small business owners should understand the difference between net and gross income. Net income is how much you make overall, while gross income is what your adjusted income is subtracting deductions. For example, if you sell a product for $10 and it costs $1 to make and ship, your adjusted gross income on that product is $9. Understanding your gross profits can help you know how profitable your business is. 

Classify Your Business Correctly

Classifying your business correctly can help you avoid overpaying in taxes. Each classification has a different effect on your business and how much you’ll pay in taxes. If you’re unsure which category is correct, consider consulting with an attorney and accountant to help you understand the tax and legal implications. 

Know the Common Deductions

Understanding the common tax deductions can put you in a better place to take advantage of them during tax season. They can also help you reduce your tax burden quarterly. Consult with your accountant to learn which types of expenses are tax-deductible so you can begin reducing your taxes as soon as possible. 

You can also invest in tax software, which automates the process of tracking standard deductions. Instead of learning the different types of deductions, your tax software will automatically reduce business expenses from your tax liability to help you pay less on your quarterly and annual taxes. 

Know When to Pay

You should always know when you have a tax payment due. Annual taxes are easy since they’re always due in mid-April. However, quarterly payments are due each quarter. All important tax items have due dates you should remember to help you avoid late penalty fees.

Donate 

Donating a portion of your income to charity can help you reduce your tax burden because it reduces your taxable income. You can always donate clothes, shoes, and products if you can’t donate money. Whenever you donate, keep a receipt to help you remember how much to deduct from your tax returns.

Preparing for Tax Season

Tax season can be difficult for small businesses that don’t keep organized records year-round. Understanding your profits and spending habits can make tax season less stressful while providing you with important financial information all year. Accurate record-keeping allows you to pull profit and loss reports at any point in the year to help you understand how to save money and earn more revenue. 

Remember, being a small business owner requires you to take on many different jobs, including being your bookkeeper. However, it would help if you always worked with a qualified accountant to ensure you followed all the IRS guidelines for tax season.