Teeing Up for Tax Season Success
As the year draws to a close, there’s one more item to consider for your small business’s to-do list: tax planning.
While the end of the year typically marks a busy season for businesses as they try to optimize revenues, the time between November and December is also often the perfect time of year to check in with your tax advisor to ensure things are on track for the filing season around the corner. Most of the year has passed, and now the tax position the business will be in is easier to ascertain.
Depending on how the business’s year has gone, the tax advisor may spot opportunities to optimize income, adjust estimates or withholding, and help avoid surprises come the filing deadline.
November through December also offers a wonderful opportunity to obtain a year-end list of what will be needed for return preparation. As the items arrive over the course of December and January, the list can be checked off, and the packet provided in a single delivery to the accountant, which helps save quite a bit in preparation fees.
Year-End Tax Preparation List items often contain the following:
- A profit and loss or income statement
- A balance sheet
- A general ledger
- Year-end business bank and loan statements
- Copies of payroll returns and owner W-2s
- Details for asset purchases over $2,500
- Details for sales of fixed assets
- Dates and amounts of quarterly estimate taxes paid
Of course, this list will vary with each business’s unique situation and should be discussed with your tax advisor.
If you have not yet found a tax professional, the team at Leone, McDonnell & Roberts would be glad to help.
