Top 21 Tips For Companies In Tax Season 2013

Top 21 Tips For Companies In Tax Season 2013

Tax season is here and its important that you and your business are prepared well before the deadlines. We wrangled the Accounting Troops and asked our small business accountants that they dispense us with some useful tax filing tips to clinch you get the best return possible.

General Tips:
- Always itemize your deductions if you exceed the standard deduction beginning.
- Review the tax documents you gave to your tax preparer last year to secure nonentity is absent from your current year documents.
- Inform your tax preparer of major changes from last year that may affect your tax return. Changes interject moving, new dependent, marriage / divorce, new job etc.

Refund / Balance Due Advice:
- Always get to e - file and setup direct enjoy for a quicker rebate.
- File early for a quicker decrease.
- Use Direct Slump if you owe taxes. You can file your return at any time and the funds will not be withdrawn until April 15th.

Penalties:
- Always file on time regardless of your ability to pay tax liabilities. This will avoid the automatic oversight - to - file legitimacy.
- Be consummate to fix upon your estimated taxes that are due for the current year in order to avoid estimated tax penalties.

Retirement:
- Contribute the maximum amount on your 401k to reduce your tax liability.
- Make contributions to a regular or Roth IRA by April 15th. The large limit to put in is $5, 000 ( $6, 000 if you are 50 or older ), and you must have earned income at primordial equal to the contribution. Regular IRA contributions are ofttimes tax - deductible, but withdrawals are taxable. Roth account contributions arent deductible, while withdrawals are oftentimes tax - free. Income and other limits resort to for both. Taxpayers stymied by the limits can do a backdoor Roth IRA: put up to $5, 000 ( $6, 000, 50 or older ) in a nondeductible regular IRA, and then convert it to a Roth account momentarily after. Income taxes are pertinent on the conversion, but they will be limited because the account usability have earned much.
- Filing an production also provides self - swamped taxpayers an in addition six - months ( until October 15th ) to treasure a SEP - IRA or SIMPLE IRA.

Medical:
- Medical deductions need to exceed 7. 5 % of your adjusted full income to be deductible on Plan A ( if you qualify ).
- Fix up to health savings accounts. You may deduct up to $6, 250 per family ( $3, 100 single ) for a health savings account if you had an approved high - deductible health plan linked to the health - savings account. The contributions may be made until April 15th.

Real Estate:
- Flash to deduct your personal real estate taxes and mortgage hobby on Programme A.
- If you refinanced your mortgage, be certain to properly deduct the points paid if any.
- Points paid when you refinance may be able to be amortized and deducted over the life of the loan.

Charitable Gifts:
- Employees who donate to charities via payroll deduction often forget to accommodate the donations on their personal tax returns. The number isnt on the W - 2 model, and often there is no letter from the charity.
- Donors may not deduct their labor or time, but they may deduct fitness or uniforms. For 2012 the allowance is 14 cents a mile. Board members or certain others may also deduct unreimbursed expenses for regard a conference.

Important Dates:
- Feb 28th: File information returns, including Forms 1098, 1099, W - 2G and design W - 3 with Copy A for payments made during 2012.
- Pace 15th: S Occupation tax returns and tax payments are due.
- Recognize April 15th is when Individual and Collaboration tax returns and tax payments are due. Only tax returns can receive a six - month extension, not tax payments.

If you have any other tax related questions, we at Presti and Naegele are at your disposal.