Common Tax Mistakes Small Business Can Make

Running your small business is rewarding in many ways but navigating all of the taxes for a small business can take the reward right out of it. There are too many things that can be forgotten, unknown, or mistaken- a wrong deduction here, a missed credit there, and suddenly that little mistake is drowning your business. Here are a few of these common tax mistakes small business can make, be sure they aren’t yours!

Tax Authorities You May Owe

Many small businesses have no idea how many authorities they should be paying taxes to. In addition to the federal and state income taxes, here are some other taxes you may owe:

• sales taxes
• property taxes
• payroll taxes
• local and municipality taxes
• excise taxes
• self-employment taxes

Take some time and educate yourself about which taxes you may need to pay. A good accounting firm can help you sort through who and what you may or may not owe! In Idaho Falls, Poston, Denney, & Killpack, PLLC will be glad to help you determine who these are, how to file, and if need be, how to pay them.

Ignoring Self Employment Taxes

Don’t assume you don’t have to pay this tax! If you net more than $400 from your business, most of that money will probably be subject to this tax. Penalties and interest can add up quick if you neglect this tax. Paying it quarterly will avoid a big payout at end of year tax filing.

Doing Your Own Payroll

You may think you are saving money by doing in-house payroll, but this can be a very costly common tax mistake. Not only is it time consuming and complicated, but it is also a common way to defraud employers through payroll checks and tax returns, not to mention filing mistakes and improper payments. To avoid penalties, just outsource this job.

Missed tax credits

Another common tax mistake is to miss tax credits. There are a lot out there, and since running your business will take up enough of your time, you don’t need to also be sifting through all of the current tax laws looking for these. Some you may be missing:

• Small business Healthcare tax credits
• Tipped employee payroll tax credit
• Domestic production activities deductions
• Tax credits for hiring disabled workers
• Returning Heroes tax credits for hiring veterans

These are just a few of many. Hiring an accounting firm is your best bet to help ferret out these credits, it’s their job to know!

These common tax mistakes can be fixed of course, by re-filing amended forms when you get an IRS notice, or by hiring your own oversight department, but those solutions are time consuming, and too costly or not feasible for most small businesses to do on their own. A better idea is to hire an accounting firm to do your taxes, correct mistakes, and keep them from happening again. Poston, Denney, & Killpack, PLLC can help you with all your small business tax concerns, and that peace of mind is it’s own reward.

Worrying about the headache of end of the year tax filing? Stop, because Poston, Denney, and Killpack, P.L.L.C. will guide you safely through treacherous paperwork!

If you have a small business, you may or may not realize that January 15th is a big day. It is the day that your quarterly estimated taxes are due. Not currently filing taxes quarterly, but wondering if you should? Here is some important information to know. Quarterly estimated taxes are for the self-employed or those will receive large windfalls.
When filing quarterly taxes, it is essential to keep a careful schedule! The important dates are:

• For income received January 1st through March 31st, your estimate is due April 15th.
• For income received April 1st through May 31st, your estimate is due June 15th.
• For income received June 1st through August 31st, your estimate is due September 15th.
• For income received September 1st through December 31st, you estimate is due January 15th.

When dealing with end of the year tax filing, it is important to separate fact from fiction!

We have compiled a list of major misconceptions to clear the air!

• For quarterly taxes, you can just pay one lump sum at the end of the year. False! You can and should pay the amount due in payments during the year.
• If you don’t make much, you don’t need to file. False! If you made or received payments, you likely need to file an information return with the IRS.
• If you miss a payment, you should just wait until the next payment. False! You should make the payment as soon as you can to reduce penalties.

Contact Poston, Denney, and Killpack, P.L.L. C. today and see the miracles we can work for you!

When dealing with end of the year tax filing, the most important thing is getting it done right. You don’t want to find yourself bogged down for the next year and beyond by penalties and interest that could be avoided. Save yourself the headache of mistakes and the ensuing confusion by contacting us today. We will get and keep you on the right track!

The Payroll Nightmare

Small business owners in Idaho Falls are finding it increasingly difficult and time-consuming to keep up with all the laws and statutes governing their company’s payroll. No one likes having to spend several hours every month just figuring out payroll. The average business owner spends 8 hours every month doing payroll. So for 12 full work days a year, business owners have to deal with payroll instead of running their business. Those are 12 days that can’t be used for generating more business, improving products or services, or helping customers. On top of the time consumption, there’s always the fear that there’s some new law that you don’t know about, or the general fear that you might do something wrong—and either mistake could result in large costs.

Beating the Nightmare

Of course, the most obvious solution to these concerns is to hire someone else to do it. You could increase your overhead and hire someone on to your team to do all the payroll tasks, or you could hire an accounting firm to do it for you. The latter is generally more affordable in Idaho Falls, and payroll services come with several advantages when they’re outsourced: it’s cost effective to have an accounting firm handle your payroll and the associated legal details, and it reduces the overhead of hiring a specialized employee. It saves you heaps of time that you can better spend running your company, and you can safely stop worrying about data entry or researching updates or new laws. Your tax filing becomes effortless when you let a professional do it. They can keep track of all the federal, state, and local payroll tax laws and apply them for you. These laws change frequently, and keeping up with them alone can be a daunting task. An accounting firm will generate a wide variety of reports like union reports, certified payroll, workers’ compensation, etc. and provide them for a nominal fee.

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

A good accounting firm will provide several options for varying levels of their services. Usually these include anything from comprehensive services, where you get pretty much every payroll service possible, to minimal services where only checks, taxes, and reports are generated for you to print yourself. These are the services you should look for in a CPA in Idaho Falls. Payroll services should be flexible and allow for customization, because no two businesses are the same.

Tax Extensions

Preparing and filing tax returns is never fun, but paying your federal income taxes to the IRS can be stressful and even financially challenging in some cases. While the April 15th tax filing deadline is a date that may be etched into your mind, the fact is that you can request an extension of time to file if necessary, and a skilled and experienced CPA can assist you with filing the proper paperwork with the IRS.

Extensions may be filed for personal returns or business returns. In many--if not most--cases, an extension may be necessary due to business related issues. Maybe you are waiting on a piece of information from another entity, preventing you from being able to file your tax return. If filing a tax extension for your individual income tax return, you would need to fill out form 4868. If you are filing an extension for a corporation, partnership, REMIC, or certain types of trusts, you would need to fill out form 7004.

When you request an extension of time to file with the IRS, you should be aware that this is a short-term extension. The request for an extension must be paid by the tax filing deadline, and a second extension may be granted by the IRS in some cases. This essentially provides you with more time to gather together your tax documents for your Idaho Falls tax preparation in order to have your accountant prepare the taxes and more. There are times when the days simply fly by, and the filing date may have approached more quickly than you realized. In other cases, major life events like the loss of a job, a divorce, or other circumstances may have consumed all of your attention.

Some individuals who need additional time to pay taxes may believe that an extension of time to file is an extension of time to pay taxes, but this is not the case. If you owe taxes to the IRS and you request an extension to file, you will be responsible for interest owed on the amount due. If you are able to file now and need extra time to pay, you can speak with your CPA about other options. For example, you can request a payment plan through the IRS. This way, you can begin making regular payments to the IRS, and this may decrease the total amount of interest that you pay on your tax bill.

There are many reasons why you may not be ready or able to file your tax return by the tax deadline. When you speak with your CPA about your circumstances, you can learn more about the options available to you to file and pay your taxes.

Self-employment Tax and Quarterly Tax Payments

Being self-employed definitely has its perks. No one is giving you orders, and you get to pick your own projects and hours. Despite the fact that a boss is no longer breathing down your neck, you can’t escape IRS tax requirements. If you own a small business and want to avoid being penalized for missing a tax payment, consider this information about self-employment tax obligations.

Self-employment Tax

According to the official IRS website, self-employed means you are the sole proprietor, independent contractor, or a member of a partnership with a business or trade. If you fall into one of these categories, you have certain tax obligations that you should be aware of. As a general rule, self-employed individuals file an annual return as well as pay estimated taxes quarterly. This includes self-employment tax, which, according to the IRS, is a “Social Security and Medicare tax primarily for individuals who work for themselves.” Note that this is a separate requirement from income tax.

Estimated Tax Paid Quarterly

To take care of your self-employment tax, you will most likely be asked to pay an estimated tax four times a year. Estimated tax is exactly what it sounds like. You simply use last year’s return and the 1040-ES form to approximate the amount you owe each quarter. In short, four times a year, you are required to pay taxes on a quarter of your return from the previous year. If you discover that your estimate is too high or too low, don’t worry. Just fill out a 1040-ES worksheet to correctly recalculate your estimated tax, and you will get a refund or pay the difference.

Don’t miss the deadline for your quarterly taxes. The IRS does not take kindly to late payments, and you will be penalized for missing your deadline.

Paying taxes quarterly can be a pain, but once you learn the rules and stick to the schedule, it is much less of a hassle. If you are struggling with understanding every tax hill you have to climb, you might want to consult a company that specializes in these types of services. Whether you live in Chicago or Idaho Falls, small business financial services companies can help you during stressful tax times.

Idaho Falls Small Business Financial Planning

Poston Denney & Killpack, PLLC is the company to go to when you need assistance with Idaho Falls small business financial planning. One of the most important elements of having a successful business is having a sound financial plan for the business.

Our certified public accountants can help you develop the best financial plan for your small business. Our CPAs have the knowledge and skills necessary to provide you with the expertise that you are looking for in tax professionals.

In addition to offering Idaho Falls small business financial planning, we also offer strategic business planning, succession planning, business valuation and various other small business services. No matter what type of assistance your small business requires, we can deliver the service that you need.

Our Idaho Falls small business financial planning is designed to help you keep your small business records organized so that when tax time rolls around you will be more prepared for it. No business owners want the time for filing taxes to come around only to find that their businesses’ records are a disorganized mess.

We try to help you prevent that from happening by helping you develop a financial plan that keeps your business’s finances organized so that they are ready for tax season. Additionally, we help you develop a financial plan that best suits your business’s needs and maximizes profits while minimizing expenses.

Idaho Falls Small Business Taxes

When it comes time to file taxes for your small business, we are more than happy to assist you with your business tax preparation as well. We can help you ensure that you pay everything that you are supposed to pay in accordance with federal, state and local laws while making sure that you don’t pay more than you have to at the same time.

No matter whether you are starting up a new business, trying to expand a current one or trying to turn around a failing one, we can assist you with developing the best financial plan for you business. Contact Poston Denney & Killpack, PLLC for a team of knowledgeable and professional CPAs that can help you maximize your business’s success. 

Small Business Payroll Idaho Falls

Operating a small business

operation often means doing more with less. The resources that you have should be mainly directed toward creating ongoing revenue for the business. At the same time, you want to make sure all your accounting functions, including the payroll system, are functioning properly. One way to accomplish the latter is to outsource the small business payroll Idaho Falls

Reduce Your Operational Costs

For now, attempting to maintain a full time accounting department is not really practical. This would entail hiring additional staff, providing them with training, and making sure that they had salaries and benefit packages that were competitive for the area. When it’s all said and done, having even one person on staff who is devoted to payroll functions presents a significant investment of resources.

Compare the cost of maintaining full time staff for this function with outsourcing your payroll needs to a reliable firm. You will find that the monthly expense of outsourcing will be significantly less. This will leave more of your revenue stream to pump back into the business and hopefully generate even more income over time.

Keep Abreast of Tax Changes

Part of maintaining a small business payroll Idaho Falls has to do with staying on top of any new tax laws that could impact employee withholding. Changes in laws at the federal and state level could mean that how the withholding is done may change, or the amounts that must be withheld are necessary in order to ensure enough taxes are collected and forwarded to the appropriate tax agency. Do you really want the headache of keeping up with those new laws?

If you choose to outsource the payroll to a local firm, you don’t have to be distracted from your revenue generation activity. The staff at the local firm will be aware of any new laws and apply them to the calculation of the payroll without fail.

Never Get Behind on Submitting Revenue to the Tax Agencies

Another important reason to outsource your small business payroll Idaho Falls is that you no longer have to do the paperwork necessary to report withholding and remit tax collections to the IRS or the state agency. Your payroll service takes care of that for you. At any time you like, it is possible to obtain reports that detail the amount collected, when the collections were reported, and even when the revenue was forwarded to each agency.

How to Find a CPA in Idaho Falls

Knowledgeable Services

Finding a knowledgeable CPA in Idaho Falls, Idaho is an excellent plan for tax preparation for businesses and individuals. A certified public accountant has specialized education received at a brick-and-mortar or online university. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, the student must pass a competency examination in their geographic region to become a certified public accountant. Having several years of work experience is also part of the training requirement to ensure clients receive quality service. Accountants can work for businesses such as medical facilities, banking institutions and retail establishments. Alternatively, many accountants open their own offices to provide a variety of independent services to private individuals or business owners.

Experienced CPA Professionals

During the busy tax preparation season, many companies and individuals begin to look for an experienced tax professional with an understanding of current federal and state regulations. Choosing an authorized CPA in Idaho Falls to prepare personal or business tax forms is a common practice because of the complexity of tax regulations. Tax codes are constantly changing at the federal and state level. Businesses and individuals with numerous tax documents to complete often prefer having the expertise of a certified public accountant to prepare forms. In many cases, a certified public accountant finds ways to save businesses and individuals thousands of dollars in taxes because they understand current tax codes.

Expert CPA Advice in Idaho Falls

Poston Denney & Killpack, PLLC of Idaho Falls offers an assortment of tax and business consulting services to local residents. Anyone seeking a CPA in Idaho Falls can contact their office with a telephone number, online form or email address. Individuals or businesses interested in having a certified public accountant prepare tax forms according to state or federal guidelines can meet with a member of staff for a confidential consultation. Hiring an independent accounting firm has benefits such as getting expert tax advice while having access to the latest computer software. While many individuals or businesses wait until the busy tax season in April to hire an independent certified public accountant, having one to work for you year-round is a better plan.

Idaho Falls Tax Preparation

It is the law for U.S. citizens to pay income taxes, according to the 16th Amendment. If you live in the Idaho Falls area, you'll need an Idaho Falls tax preparation professional to help file your taxes each year that you make an income. 

The reason income taxes are necessary is because the government can't operate without receiving revenue from its citizens. The amount of annual income tax you pay is generally based on how much money you make within that year. The majority of money you receive within a year is subject to income tax. This includes money that you may win from playing the lottery, royalties, unemployment, rent that you receive from a tenant who lives in a property you own, and any earnings you receive from running your own business, in addition to a traditional salary.

The Congressional Budget Office asserts that income taxes from individuals are the main source of income or revenue for the government. For instance, in 2008, U.S. citizens paid around $1.15 trillion in taxes, which made up about 45 percent of the federal government's revenue

What Are Income Taxes?

"Income tax" is the general term used to describe the money that individuals pay based on the profits they earn. However, an Idaho Falls tax preparation professional may also explain to your that these taxes are also paid by estates, trusts and corporations. Several other types of business entities are also subject to income taxes. Corporate income taxes made up about $304 billion of the government's revenue in 2008, which account for around 12% of the federal budget, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Besides your national income tax, you may also have to pay a tax that is state-specific. Idaho is one of the states that requires this state tax. As of 2013, the only states that do not require you to pay additional taxes are Florida, Alaska, Texas, Washington, Wyoming, Nevada and South Dakota.

To get a better understanding of income taxes and to find out exactly what you owe, contact an Idaho Falls tax preparation professional to help organize your tax forms and assist you in paying your income taxes before the April 15 deadline. 

April 15th: Tax Preparation in Idaho Falls

April 15th is a date that many people dread, and if you don’t have your tax information in order, then you can dread the day for good reason. Having a team of certified public accountants on your side like the ones at Poston Denney & Killpack, PLLC to help you with your tax preparation in Idaho Falls can help make you feel more confident when tax day rolls around instead of panicky.

Our CPAs can help you ensure that your taxes are prepared and ready to be filed by their due date of April 15th. The federal government mandates that all individual and business tax returns must be turned into them by that date.

Idaho Falls Tax Preparation

However, you may file your taxes early if you wish, and there are a few benefits to doing so. For instance, sometimes if you file your taxes early, you may end up getting any refund that the IRS owes you back early as well.

Additionally, filing your taxes earning can help ensure that you have plenty of time to make any necessary amendments to your return before the final due date rolls around. Of course, if you choose to utilize the services of tax professionals like us to do your tax preparation in Idaho Falls, then, hopefully, you won’t have to worry about filing an amended tax return because all the information will be submitted correctly the first time around.

Our CPAs provide you with tax preparation in Idaho Falls that you can count on. We have extensive knowledge and experience with tax preparation, and we strive to stay up on all the latest tax laws to ensure that we can help our clients take advantage of every possible way for them to save money.

Tax time can be a stressful time of year for many people, but when you come to us, we take the stress off of you. We strive to make the tax preparation process as easy as possible for you.

Simply provide us with the information that we need, and we’ll do the rest. Contact us today to get on your way to having a stress-free tax preparation session.