The Tax season 2018 has just started. Small and medium-sized businesses need to be in their top gear to efficiently file different taxes. Well, before filing taxes, there are several financial auditing and document management tasks that you need to perform.
To ease down the Tax Season 2018, and help your business not face any of the IRS penalties, AUDINC has started its exclusive blog series. In this blog series, we will share a few great ideas and hacks following which you and your business can have a stress-free tax season.
In this first part of the Tax Season Blog Series, we will discuss 7 great hacks that will help you transform the Tax Practices. Let’s start!
1. Analyse 2017 Returns
Before you start preparing for the Tax Season 2018, it is important to analyse the returns of the last year. Analysis of last year returns will help you make reviews and further help you better organize your documents as well as tax practices.
2. Understand Tax Reforms Under the Trump Administration
Prior to preparing for tax filing, it is important to know and understand important tax reforms that took place under the Trump Administration. The new tax reforms under the Trump Administration, such as “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” directly affects your business and the overall tax practices.
3. Stay Updated with New Tax Laws
To have a smooth tax season, it is always wise to stay updated with news related with tax laws. As the tax season nears up, there are several changes done by the IRS in the tax laws. New tax laws have a direct impact on your overall tax filing as well as on income tax returns.
4. Organize Important Documents and Files
One of the most important tasks that you need to do in the tax season is to organize all the important documents and files. As the tax season 2018 approaches, a few documents that you need to arrange and organize are:
- Form 1095-A
- W-2 earning statements
- 1098 Forms
- Form 1099-MISC
- Schedule K-1 Form
- W-2Gs Form
Along with these documents, it is also advisable to collect and check all business information related to inventories, labor costs, etc.
5. Justify Your Expenses
To get better tax returns, it is recommended to all the small and medium-sized businesses, especially startups to justify miscellaneous expenses of their business while filing taxes with the IRS.
6. Keep Important Deadlines at Your Fingertips
There are several important deadlines related to filing taxes and tax returns that you can’t afford to miss. If you miss out any of the important deadlines set by the IRS then there are chances of facing eventualities in the form of IRS penalties.
| Entity Type Taxes | Tax Deadlines |
|---|---|
| Original deadline for partnerships (Form 1065) and S Corporations (Form 1120S) | March 15, 2018 |
| Original deadline for C Corporations (Form 1120) and individuals (Form 1040) | April 17, 2018 |
| Original deadline for exempt organizations (Form 990) | May 15, 2018 |
| Final deadline for partnerships and S Corporations | September 17, 2018 |
| Final deadline for C Corporations and individuals | October 15, 2018 |
| Final deadline for exempt organizations | August 15, 2018 |
7. Hire a Tax Preparer
To have smooth tax season for your business, it is always wise to hire an experienced tax preparer. While hiring new tax preparers ensure that they have a working knowledge of using different tax software, such as Lacerte.
Bottomline
As the Tax Season 2018 starts, it is important for small and medium-sized businesses to have a requisite infrastructure, resources and other important components set in place. To have smooth tax season, stay tuned to our blog series.
In case of any query, you can also contact us. We are a team of experienced tax and accounting professionals. We have helped 100+ SMBs and startups establish the new age accounting and tax filing system and practices.