Tax Preparation Mistakes You Don’t Want To Make

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Tax Preparation Mistakes You Dont Want To Make
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• For any small business owner, tax time can evoke
  a sense of dread and foreboding, and it can be a
  very stressful time of year all round. Because of
  the stress and urgency surrounding tax time, its
  easy for business owners to make myriad mistakes
  when preparing to file their returns.
• To help in avoiding making potentially costly
  mistakes, we have compiled a list of some of the
  most common pitfalls that are made by small
  business owners each year

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• Minor expenses should always be included
• Things such as purchases made using petty cash or
  educational classes, may seem like insignificant
  amounts to be declaring, but they do mount up.
  Finding out what you can and cannot deduct is
  wise, but recording all expenses is the most
  sensible way to avoid missing out on any
  potential deductions.

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• Avoid overstating your deductions
• Audits from the IRS are not something any small
  business owner would welcome, but exaggerating
  your deductions could easily see a red flag being
  raised and result in a visit from the IRS. Some
  things, such as meal costs when in transit or
  gifts for clients, are only partly deductible,
  but a qualified tax professional will be able to
  help you with this.

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• Red flags may also be raised if your expenses are
  higher than expected for the type of business
  that you are running, or if they are
  significantly higher than the previous year.
• Dont forget your other tax obligations
• There may be other taxes that you are obliged to
  declare, such as property, payroll, excise and
  self-employment to name but a few, and not
  declaring them in a timely manner could result in
  fines.

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• Keep your personal and business accounts separate
• Keeping track of your expenses is made far more
  difficult when personal and business accounts
  arent kept separate when it comes to preparing
  your taxes, it can be extremely confusing and any
  mix ups could result in a red flag being raised.
• Get payroll right
• Being compliant with the taxes surrounding
  payroll, is crucial in avoiding costly fines.
  Many small businesses struggle with tax
  compliance surrounding payroll, and opt to hire a
  professional company to help them deal with this
  aspect of their business.

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• Be efficient with your record keeping
• Each year, many small business owners miss out on
  opportunities to reduce their taxable income, due
  to not having kept track of their expenses
  which includes keeping receipts. Reviewing your
  accounts regularly, or hiring an accountant to do
  so for you, will certainly help you to be more
  efficient when it comes to tax time.

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• Hire the services of a professional
• One way of ensuring that you dont make any
  mistakes when it comes to preparing your taxes,
  is to hire the services of a professional
  accountancy or bookkeeping company that way you
  will have no concerns about not being compliant
  with the many and varied tax laws, and your
  returns will be filed in a timely manner.

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• At Heyer Associates, we proactively assist our
  individual and small business clients in meeting
  their goals. Our key area of focus is ensuring
  that our clients remain compliant with federal
  and state tax laws by providing them with high
  quality accounting and tax preparation service in
  Miami. If you are looking for bookkeeping
  services in Miami, Heyer Associates would be a
  right option.