Is Your Small Business Ready For Tax Season? | R&S Logistics

April 15 will be here before you know it–are you and your business prepared for tax season? Small businesses in particular could use a little extra help to make sure they minimize their tax liability and get the most from the season. At R&S Logistics, we aim to help move your business ahead in every way, so we’ve rounded up a few simple tips to help you maximize your tax time experience.

Use a payroll tax software.
Far too many businesses get fined every year because they handle payroll taxes incorrectly. Why? A surprising amount of small businesses have opted to manage payroll taxes alone without the assistance of a third party.

Separate your finances.
It’s tempting as a small business owner to run your personal and business funds together. Don’t do it! Having a separate business checking account and credit card account for your business will make everything easier at tax time. Plus, should you ever get audited by the IRS, it will be much easier to pull up documents that support legitimate business expenses when they are not co-mingled with your personal expenses.

Keep an organized filing system.
The number one way to reduce tax-time anxiety is to be prepared. Make sure that you have a filing system in place which is being routinely managed. It doesn’t need to be fancy–expandable folders (one for each month) work just fine. File all receipts, deposit slips, ATM withdrawal slips, and any other appropriate papers into their respective month’s folder. Make sure you schedule a few hours monthly to file and maintain your system to keep it organized.

Track revenue and expenses through accounting software.
This is a very simple way to automate and simplify your life. Too many businesses try to cut costs and track expenses themselves–which is a recipe for more fines and missed deductions. Invest in the software. You won’t regret it.

Recover expenses with the Section 179 Deduction.
If you typically use depreciation deductions for business equipment or property, take the section 179 deduction instead. With Section 179, you get to recover the full cost up to $500,000 for the 2017 tax year in the same year that you purchased it rather than waiting 5 to 10 years.

Looking for more? Consider these further tax tips for small businesses.

So what do you think? These are some very simple tips that can help make your tax time a little easier. Are there other business functions which could be simplified? At R&S Logistics, our expertise lies in making the complicated simple. Contact us today to learn how we can make your business better.