Preparing Your Business Taxes

If you’re preparing to file your own business tax returns (especially for the first time), you may have already found what a complex, frustrating ordeal it can be. And while you may be a pro at filing your personal taxes, when it comes to your business, it’s a whole other ball game.

Choose a CPA with Experience

For starters, there are several other documents you’ll need to gather.  The biggest ticket items you’ll need to gather include:

  1. Prior year’s business tax return: It’s important to have last year’s tax return onhand to verify important information as well as to help gather some of the details you will need to file for the current year..
  2. Articles of incorporation: This involves the list of officers, shareholders, ownership percentages and the state in which your business is incorporated.
  3. Accounting records: This will include all your income and expense records, profit and loss statements, and balance sheet information as well. You will also need bank statements, credit card statements and payroll reports
  4. Asset purchase information: This includes the cost and description of all assets purchased within the last year as well as any sales tax paid on these assets.
  5. Depreciation information: If you’ve purchased assets which have depreciated, you’ll need to include a description of the asset, the original cost of the asset,  accumulation of depreciations as well as the date it was put into service.
  6. Vehicle information:   If your business provides vehicles to employees or involves vehicle usage you will need to  have tracked (and be able to differentiate) miles driven for business vs. personal miles, and the total number of commute miles.

In many cases, the above documents may only scratch the surface, but this will depend on your industry, business type, geographic location as well as many other factors.

irs envelope

Drawbacks of DIY Tax Preparation

As you can see, business tax preparation can get tricky, quick. Not to mention that many businesses are still reeling from the financial fallout of the pandemic and the subsequent changes in tax filing deadlines.

Some big, lingering questions for businesses of all stripes include:

  •  What is the IRS Form 941?
  • I qualified for the PPP loan last year, so what do I do now?
  • What do I need to know about the 2021 tax deadline?
  • How do I pay federal employer taxes?

Unfortunately, online services are often very expensive, and are not always able to accommodate personalized scenarios or provide advice.  As it is, tax software can be complex on top of the fact that tax filing has already become more complicated due to all the federal changes… and you could end up paying more than you should.

When you pay for the services of a CPA, you're not only paying for personalized service, you’re also developing a relationship which can benefit your unique financial needs for years to come.

Choose a Full-Service CPA

As you can see, business tax preparation can get tricky, quick. Not to mention that many businesses are still reeling from the financial fallout of the pandemic and the subsequent changes in tax filing deadlines.

Some big, lingering questions for businesses of all stripes include:

  •  What is the IRS Form 941?
  • I qualified for the PPP loan last year, so what do I do now?
  • What do I need to know about the 2021 tax deadline?
  • How do I pay federal employer taxes?

Unfortunately, online services are often very expensive, and are not always able to accommodate personalized scenarios or provide advice.  As it is, tax software can be complex on top of the fact that tax filing has already become more complicated due to all the federal changes… and you could end up paying more than you should.

When you pay for the services of a CPA, you're not only paying for personalized service, you’re also developing a relationship which can benefit your unique financial needs for years to come.

Business Tax Preperation Carlsbad

Candice has nearly 20 years of experience in public accounting and business tax preparation in Carlsbad, California. As a full-service CPA she provides tailored accounting services as well as tax planning, audits, reviews and financial compilations, as well as forensic accounting and much more. During her career she has  been in a variety of areas such as, white collar crime, financial statement preparation and tax compliance.