If you own a business, I’m sure you’re aware that business taxes have strict requirements from the IRS. If you want to get your paperwork filed on-time and keep more of your hard earned profits in your bank account, follow these 3 tips to keep your small business taxes organized.
Know Your Deadlines
When it comes to taxes, it’s very important that you stay on top of your deadlines. In fact, you should always try to submit your paperwork at least a few weeks before your deadline. The deadlines for small business taxes are different than those for individuals. Here are a few important dates to take note of:
- March 15th: Deadline for Corporate Taxes
- May 15th: Deadline for Non-Profits
- Quarterly tax payments dates: January 15th, April 15th, June 15th, and September 15th.
Make sure you mark these dates down in your calendar. It’s very easy to get distracted and get stuck filing your taxes last minute. To avoid the extra stress and potential late penalties, get your paperwork done and filed well before these deadlines so you can focus on what’s matters.
Outsource Whenever Possible
Unless crunching numbers is your bread and butter, your best bet is to delegate your taxes to a 3rd party. If you don’t have an in house accountant, there are plenty of services that offer affordable and efficient filing assistance.
Reviews.com lists Turbo Tax as their top online tax software for small businesses in 2016. Turbo Tax offers industry specific packages and seamless integrations with other accounting software like Quickbooks. The money spent on a service like this is well worth it. You’ll be saving time and money in the long run.
Maintain Proper Records
Keeping proper records is imperative for a few reasons. Mainly, if you want to claim any write-offs or deductions you must show the IRS valid paperwork. If there’s ever a dispute or security issue, you’ll want to have quick access to these documents so the issue can be resolved as quickly as possible. Lastly, if you keep your records handy, you can compare to previous years and look for ways to reduce taxes in the future and in turn increase your bottom line.
A great way to keep record of your transactions is to use an online billing tool. There are plenty of online invoicing platforms that allow you to bill clients entirely online. If you use ACH Transfers or an eCheck instead of paper checks and invoices, you’ll save yourself a lot of time and money. Many of these platforms offer solutions for payroll as well so you can shop around the right solution for your business.
Tax season is nobodies favorite time of year, but it has to get done. If you want to get through tax time quickly, use these three tips to keep your small business taxes organized so you can spend more time on what’s important!
