Community > Education > Bookkeeping > Outright’s “Tax Day Preparation Checklist”

Outright’s “Tax Day Preparation Checklist”

Posted by: Jennifer Escalona, September 9, 2009

Under: Bookkeeping, Taxes

Quarter 3 of the tax year ended last Monday, August 31st, so for the next couple of weeks small business owners will be clamoring to get their tax records in order. Whether you use the services of an accountant, or like a true bootstrap entrepreneur, do your own quarterly taxes, tax time can equal stressful times. To make things a little easier for you this tax day, we are offering a quick checklist of records and information to gather when preparing for tax time:

  1. Income and Expenses – You can use Outright to create, export and print out a profit and loss statement. This allows you to view, or share with your accountant, all the income and expenses your business incurred over the past quarter.
  2. Business Deductions – It’s easy to overlook business deductions. Go back through your receipts and accounts and be sure you are claiming all of your rightful deductions.
  3. Your Filing Status – If this is your first tax day, you will need to determine your filing status. Sole-proprietorships pay taxes differently than the owner of a limited liability corporation (LLC).
  4. Necessary Forms – Depending on the type of business you own and the type and amount of deductions you are claiming, you will need different tax forms. Visit the Small Business/Self-Employed section of the IRS website to determine which forms you need, then download them from the IRS Forms and Publications page.

After you’ve gathered all the necessary information, it’s time to dig in and fill out those tax forms. Be sure that you get your taxes in on time to avoid penalties. And remember, if you think you will need more time, you can file an extension no questions asked. If you’ve been using Outright to keep track of your income and expenses, you already have a lot of your tax-related footwork in the can (or, in the free web based application, as the case may be.)

Do you have any tax or Outright related questions? Post them in the comments section before September 15th and we will answer them in this space. Until then, good luck gathering those tax documents!

Similar Topics: