It’s that lovely time of year again: taxes. For small
businesses, tax time can be stressful, especially if you aren’t prepared. Even
if you are organized (give yourself a pat on the back for that one!), tax time
can still be stressful. There is a lot to consider, a lot to think about, and a
lot to get in order, regardless of business size, number of employees, or
revenue.
Here is a comprehensive
tax checklist of some things to think of when organizing and planning to
file your small business taxes for 2013:
Records and
Documentation. Do you have all your expense reports and receipts? Are all
your files readily accessible? If not, then you are running out of time to get
these things together. Yes, it’s “only” February, but taxes are due in about
two months. You don’t want to spend the next two months throwing together
random pieces of paper and jot down a few numbers and call it an expense
report. That will only hurt you in the long run. The moral of the story here?
Start now if you’ve got some record keeping catching up to do…
Another good thing to keep handy is your appointment book,
or some type of calendar that tracks your work schedule, appointments or
conference calls with clients, or errands you need to run related to your
business. This will also justify claiming vehicle expenses, particularly those
used specifically for business purposes, such as a company truck, van, or car.
Even if you used your personal vehicle to make business calls, attend
appointments, travel, or run errands, be sure to track your mileage, track your
gas usage, and even repairs.
Deductible Expenses
for Home Businesses. For those independently-owned businesses, sole
proprietorships, or LLCs, there’s good news if you work out of your home. Many
business-related expenses, such as a portion of rent, a mortgage, insurance,
utilities, and any repairs or improvements done to a home office or that directly
affect the home office area, are often tax deductible in some form.
However, a home office needs to be a separate area in a
house, apartment, or on a property (such as a shed, garage, etc.) that used
primarily for business purposes. It’s also a good idea to log the amount of
time you spend working each day or on a weekly basis in this location. This
will ensure that you are able to deduct a portion of home expenses for your
small business.
Financial Statements.
Be sure to keep copies and print outs of all your financial statements.
This could be client check stubs, bank transactions, transfers, and even a copy
of the checks you wrote from your business account, assuming you are actively
using one.
Payroll. If you
are a larger business that has an active payroll, your payroll service or
accounting staff should take care of all year-end reporting. However, if you or
a bookkeeper does payroll yourselves, this obviously involves a lot more work,
but a bookkeeper can help you get organized and get prepared to file your small
business taxes for 2013 and even help you file quarterly payroll taxes on your
employees.
Even if you are a small business and don’t have any
employees but still hired a freelancer or part time employee to help you with
some work over the last year, if that person provided $600 or more in services,
they should have received a 1099 from you.
All in all, whether you are prepared to file small business
taxes for 2013 or not, the time is now to get things organized and ready to go.
Even if 2013 wasn’t your best year for record keeping and staying organized,
make that your 2014 goal. In fact, March
11th is “Organize Your Home Office Day”. Take this opportunity to
get organized so when it’s time to file your small business taxes for 2014,
you’ll be organized and ready to go.
Of course, not every small business owner is also a CPA, so
for those small business owners who are a little less experienced or who are
unsure of what they can or cannot claim, particularly those that operate out of
their own home, a good rule of thumb to keep in mind is, “If the IRS came
knocking on my door right now, would I be able to justify this?”
Running
any type of business certainly comes with its pains, its pleasures, and
there is no shortage of stress, but by staying organized, staying efficient, and
by keeping up records and documentation, everything will be that much easier.
Happy taxing!
Image credit: © bahrialtay - Fotolia.com
Written content: © 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 J.H. Language Solutions
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