If you plan on filing your own business taxes this year, it is important to gather the following documents below as it will make the process much easier for you.
If you run into any trouble at all while you are filing your taxes, make sure that you get the help from a tax professional right away. He or she will be able to walk you through the process and ensure that you are claiming all of the right small business tax credits and deductions.
You will need to grab last year’s tax return when it comes time to file this year. You will need to gather a variety of information from the return including the personal identification number you used towards the end of the return.
The most important information you should highlight on last year’s return is:
· Your business code
· Your federal tax ID
· The method you use for business finances
· The method you use for inventory
· The date of business formation
· Any partner and shareholder information
· Your balance sheets
· Your business activity descriptions
If you do not have your previous year’s return at your disposal, you should request a transcript or copy from the IRS. It will make this year’s taxes much easier.
Your tax return needs to include all of your income and expenses for your business. If you do not have this information, you will find it is impossible to not make a mistake on your tax return.
You should compile all of your receipts and separate them into deposits and expenses. You should have a sheet that shows all of your businesses profits and also losses. You will need to claim both on your tax return as well, so it is essential to be able to access the information quickly.
If your business has employees and pays them, you need to keep payroll sheets. These sheets and reports will track how much each employee received along with all relevant tax information.
You will find that your payroll reports come in handy when it is time to show how much you paid in Medicare and social security taxes. In addition, you will need your payroll information to add to your business expenses.
You need to gather all of your credit card and bank statements. Of course, you probably do not remember how much money you spent for business expenses this week, but your credit card statement will have that information for you.
Your credit card statements will come in handy when it is time for you to start writing off deductions including travel write offs and similar.
Your bank statements will help you when it comes time to show what income you received and the expenses you paid from your account. Your business checking and savings accounts are considered assets for your company so you should always have a copy of your statements readily at hand.
If this is your first time filing your business tax return, you will need to grab ahold of your articles of incorporation as these articles provide you with some important data you need to know.
First and foremost, you will need to list all of the shareholders, investors, and officers within the company on your tax return. You will also need to know the percentage of ownership for each partner and also where you filed the articles of incorporation.
If you have made any large asset purchases for your business, you will need the reports for them. The report will need to include information such as when you made the purchase, the date the item started receiving use in your company, and what the asset is.
Your asset information is an important part of your tax return, especially when it comes time to deduct your depreciation value. You should also have a depreciation schedule on hand to provide on your tax return.
If you are filing your business taxes for the first time, you may seem overwhelmed and this is a natural response. If you find that you are stuck on an item or two, you should hire a local tax agent to look over your taxes for you and help you get them filled out and filed correctly.
Stephen Elmore