Top 10 Small Business Tax Preparation Articles

Top 10 Small Business Tax Preparation Articles

01. Barbara Weltman's "5 Financial and Tax Planning Things To Do Right Now"

Weltman has been a business tax attorney since 1977, and has a well-spring of expertise worth subscribing to. Her article lists 5 things you should do right now to prepare for taxes:

1. Meet with your CPA.
2. Review your balance sheet.
3. Finalize year-end bonuses. 
4. Face your inventory challenges.
5. Fix benefit plans for the coming year.

Read the full article here for the details and explanations. 

Need free help with your taxes? Schedule a 30-minute consult now.

02. Laura Saunders's "Act Now to Lower Your 2014 Taxes"

In the Wall Street Journal, Saunders reviews tax-saving strategies that need to be done by December 31st. She goes into helpful details that you'll want to read through. What do you need to do before the year's end? 

1. Adjusted gross income.
2. Investment gains and losses.
3. Charitable giving.
4. Alternative minimum tax.
5. Medical costs.
6. Health insurance.
7. Tax-free gifts for education or other purposes.
8. Tax-preparation costs.

Read the full article here.

03. Karen E. Klein's "Last-Minute Small Business Tax Tips For Procrastinators"

Klein's BusinessWeek article has these tips for hurried small business owners trying to meet tax deadlines:

1. E-file your return.
2. Sweat the small details.
3. Sign and date your return.
4. Include your payment.
5. Write off your home office.
6. Pay estimated taxes.
7. Look for savings in past and future tax years.
8. Tally your Bitcoin taxes.
9. Fund your retirement.
10. Avoid penalties.

Not sure what all this means? Read the full article here.

04. Stuart Robertson's "The Holiday Season, That Other Tax Time"

Robertson's article reminds business owners of the essential tax tasks that have to happen during the holidays--despite the desire to focus on year-end sales, 2015's outlook, and spending time with family and friends. Here's what he reminds business owners to remember about taxes during all of the craziness:

1. Catch up on your 401(k) or IRA contributions.
2. Set up a company retirement plan.
3. Consider a Roth option.

For the details, read the full article here. 

05. Evan Klonsky's "How to Find a Tax Preparer for Your One-Person Business"

Klonsky asked the experts how one-person businesses could best find a tax preparer that would be a good fit. Here's what he found:

1. Prepare your records year-round.
2. Learn the lingo.
3. Vet the credentials.
4. Build a business partnership.

Get into the nitty-gritty details by reading the full article here. 

06. Chris Newmarker's "Don't Overpay Your Taxes: 5 Can't Miss Small-Business Deductions"

Unless you're looking for financing, you're probably looking for as many ways to save on taxes as possible. Newmarker discusses 5 deductions that are often overlooked:

1. Crunching car expenses the hard way.
2. Choosing the tougher path on the home office.
3. Remembering startup costs.
4. Employee expenses.
5. Business related meals and entertainment.

Read about all 5 in detail with the full article here. 

07. Mashable's "10 Essential Online Resources for Preparing Your Small Business Taxes"

Mashable has compiled a great resource list of online tools and forums that will help you get organized and tackle those 2014 taxes. Links they've provided:

1. IRS e-file.
2. Turbo Tax.
3. H&R Block Software.
4. Tax Act Business.
5. Shoeboxed.
6. Neat Receipts.
7. IRS Small Business Center.
8. CPAs Answer Questions at H&R Block.
9. About.com Taxes
10. Intuit Community.

Read Mashable's full report here.

08. Tom Herman's "Your Driving Deductions for 2015"

Herman does a great job explaining all the different variables that go into calculating your vehicle/driving deductions in his article. He also lists the updated optional standard milage rates that will be effective January 1, 2015:

1. Business miles driven: 57.5 cents per mile.
2. Driving for medical or moving purposes: 23 cents per mile.
3. For charitable purposes: 14 cents per mile.

Read more about driving deductions in the full article here. 

09. Kelly Phillips Erb's "Miserable, Awful & Delayed: Comissioner, Tax Advocate Talk 2015 Tax Season."

Looks like the tax season ahead will be a bit messier than usual. Ugh, right? Erb sat down with IRS Comissioner John Koskinen to get his thoughts on what's ahead:

Citing concerns about extenders, increased responsibilities due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), and cuts to the agency’s budget, the Commissioner told the crowd, “All we can do is try to maximize our services as well as we can; as well as we can is still going to be miserable. You really do get what you pay for.”

Read the full article here to find out more about the challenges ahead so that you can be prepared to get through tax season 2015 as quickly as possible.

10. J.D. Harrison's "Small Business Owners Lose More Than a Week Every Year on Tax Preparation"

What are the tax preparation costs for your business? Harrison's Washington Post article reports that more than half of small employers say that the administrative tasks of tax season are a huge burden on their company. In addition, Harrison points to these eye-opening stats:

On average, small-business owners spend more than 40 hours — the equivalent of a full workweek — filing their federal taxes every year. One in four spends at least three full weeks on the annual chore.

There is also the expense of doing that work. Only 12 percent of employers filed their taxes on their own this year, down from 15 percent last year — and hiring help can be pricey. Half spent more than $5,000 on accountants and administrative costs last year. One in four spent more than $10,000.

Read more about the costs of tax preparation in the full article here. 

Need a free tax planning session with one of our CPAs? Schedule a 30-Minute session now.