Small and Medium-sized businesses are both the lifeblood of our economy and a crucial part of the American Dream. However, most of the industrious people who run these companies have neither the time nor proper understanding of the tax code to correctly prepare their business taxes even with the assistance of software.
It might be tempting to shelve tax-related issues until April, but this is highly unwise. It is smart to have the right tax professional by your side from the beginning to look out for all the unexpected issues that often plague small business accounting.
The Self Employment Tax
A self-employed person has to file additional taxes besides their income tax. This usually amounts to an extra 15.3% burden for small business owners. This is because employers and employees each pay 7.65% for both Social Security and Medicare taxes, so a self-employed individual will have to pay the full amount.
Solution
Small businesses should take advantage of the many business deductions available to small businesses to counteract this tax burden.
These include:
- Travel by airplane, train, bus, or car between your home and your business destination. (If you’re provided with a ticket or you’re riding free as a result of a frequent traveler or similar program, your cost is zero.)
- Fares for taxis or other types of transportation between the airport or train station and your hotel, the hotel, and the work location, and from one customer to another, or from one place of business to another.
- Shipping of baggage, and sample or display material between your regular and temporary work locations.
- Using your car while at your business destination. You can deduct actual expenses or the standard mileage rate and business-related tolls and parking fees. If you rent a car, you can deduct only the business-use portion for the expenses.
- Meals and lodging.
- Dry cleaning and laundry.
- Business calls while on your business trip. (This includes business communications by fax machine or other communication devices.)
- Tips you pay for services related to any of these expenses.
- Other similar ordinary and necessary expenses related to your business travel. (These expenses might include transportation to and from a business meal, public
Just make sure that you follow guidelines and do not over-deduct.
Become Proactive
Business taxes are determined by net income. This is when you subtract business expenses from gross revenues. Having an online accounting system automatically keeps track of your figures. If you use an online accounting system and you’ve entered all income and expenses, the system will automatically provide you with a gross profit figure. Those that use spreadsheets, please take the time to add up the numbers so you can forecast what you will need to owe in taxes for the following year.
Remember The Quarterlies
Since self-employed owners do not get taxes withheld from their paycheck, it is a good idea to withhold the correct amount and send the Internal Revenue Service quarterly payments. This is particularly important if your tax liability is over $1.000. Ignoring quarterly payments could result in costly interest payments or penalties.
Net Profit
Do you properly understand how to handle your cash flow? Are you going to pay taxes purely based on
What is available in your checking account? Many business owners do not realize that their available cash is not the same as the company’s net profit.
Independent Contractors
Are you confident that your independent contractors have not become employees during the tax year? Did you provide them with the right forms? Businesses need to understand how to properly document all those who have done work for them and the Internal Revenue Service or IRS regulations on such matters can be very perplexing.
Documenting Yourself
Have you, the owner, been taking money out of the business to pay personal or professional expenses?
Do you know what to call the money you have taken out? Are you drawing a salary?
Small business accounting can be quite complex and confusing. The wrong guess to any of these tough questions can land you into a lot of trouble with the IRS. This is why having the proper small business consultant is crucial to protecting your business from unnecessary taxes and fines.
What Are Some Things That A Business Should Be Monitoring/Be On The Lookout For To Avoid Any Tax-Related Surprises?
Tax saving opportunities are available from January 1st to December 31st and are just not limited to the tax season. You must have someone that can advise you in real-time so you make the proper decisions through each crucial step of building your business.
Someone who waits till tax season to seek advice will realize that most of the stronger options are no longer available to them. Every business transaction made by the business owner will have a powerful impact on their tax liability. A solid tax professional will help guide your business through every crucial moment which allows for more financial security and stability. They will make sure that you are not sidelined with incorrect information that will lead to bad business tax decisions.
Getting A Tax Resale Certification Is One Of The Best Things You Can Do As An Entrepreneur
If you decide to start a business, a tax resale certificate can save you money on taxes.
In short, a tax retail certificate allows you not to pay sales tax on items that you plan to resell. This can also apply to supplies that are going to be used in products that you will resell, such as wood for a cabinet.
However, the process can be difficult and the rules are different for each state. That is why TaxResaleCertificate should do all the hard work for you. We can make sure that you get all the advantages of a tax resale certificate without having to deal with the hassle of government red tape. Let us handle the hard stuff so you can proceed to run your business with confidence. Make sure you check out our second blog in this series so you can learn even more valuable information about tax resale certificates.