Last Minute Tax Tips

Well, tax time is just about over. And if you are one of those late stragglers, it would be advisable to put all of your paperwork together quickly and mail in your tax return before Friday. A few weeks ago, we threw out a few tax tips on this blog with the hope that they could help business owners everywhere.

However, we figure that it may be time to throw a few pieces of advice the way of entrepreneurs who may have procrastinated this year. Remember, that as a business owner, you have the ability to write off a number of your business expenses. Everything from your gas and parking fees to your internet and phone services are charges that you should be claiming.

You don’t have all of your receipts, you say? Okay, let’s start from the beginning so that you don’t run into this problem next year. First off, new business owners may not be fully aware of the charges that they may claim each year. Go online and Google “business expenses you can write off”.

Or better yet, speak to your tax accountant and be sure to get the full scoop on what is eligible as business expense. Second of all, don’t wait until tax time to collect all of your receipts and start adding up the charges. Even though you think it may be part of his or her job, you don’t want your tax accountant to have to sort through every receipt that you have racked up him or herself.

Set aside a folder to keep your receipts in as you accumulate them throughout the year. Keep envelopes labeled to designate all of the charges from each other. For example, you should have envelopes for gas and parking, postage and supplies, internet and phone charges and even dining and entertainment as well.

Take the time to add up all of the charges at the end of the year. The earlier you do this, the better. That way, you won’t have to scramble (as some of you may be doing now) to calculate everything you wish to claim during the last week of March. Write the totals on each envelope and have your entire tax package ready to go well in advance.

This way, when you are ready to meet with your tax accountant, all he or she will have to do is plug in your numbers to have your tax return prepared for you within minutes. It may require a little bit of extra effort throughout the year, but you’ll be thanking yourself come tax time. Here’s to a big return!