Tax help guides plus providers? If you have business income and expenses to report on Schedule C, you will need to share your books and records (for example, QuickBooks or any other accounting system you use, receipts for expenses, and relevant bank and credit card statements).16? The better organized your records are, the less time it will take a preparer to process your taxes, which translates into lower fees for their service.
Let’s start with retirement accounts. Employer-based accounts such as 401(k) and 403(b) accounts allow you to lower your taxable income easily. That’s because every dollar you put into these accounts is not taxed until you withdraw the money from your account — and that reduces your tax burden each year you make a contribution. The benefit here is that if you wait until you have retired to withdraw money from your 401(k), your income will be lower because you’ll no longer be drawing a salary. The result? You’ll be in a lower tax bracket, which means that the money you withdraw will be taxed at a much lower rate than it would’ve been if you’d had to pay taxes when you earned it.
Pick Up Capital Gains if You’re in a Low Tax Bracket: The end of the year is also a good time for some people to sell stocks that have appreciated significantly in value. This can be a particularly good strategy for those who are in the 10% and 12% tax brackets since their capital gains tax may be zero. The stocks can then be repurchased, which resets the basis and minimizes the amount of tax to be paid on future gains. Even if you’re not in the lowest tax brackets, you may want to sell winning stocks to reset the basis if you’re also harvesting losses. “What you want to do is balance (gains) with stocks that have losses,” Barlin says.
Tax credits are the federal government’s way of encouraging businesses and individuals to do things—or not do things—that affect the greater good. For example, you can take tax credits for hiring employees, going green, providing access to disabled employees and the public, and providing health coverage for employees. Most are part of the General Business Credit, which is quite extensive so it’s quite possible that you qualify under some of its terms. Check with your accountant. Discover extra information on https://greentree.tax/llc-tax-preparation/.
Document Everything. While talking to the customer about the outstanding debt, take careful notes about everything that was discussed, including the customer’s comments in case there is a future debt dispute. If your company has tracking software, input everything into the system while the conversation is fresh in your mind. Over time, continue to add any additional details to your file to keep it as up-to-date as possible. Debt collections are common, especially in difficult economic times. Using these collection techniques should increase your odds of success. But, if all this effort doesn’t result in getting paid, you may want to use the services of a reputable collection agency.
Current research indicates that individuals are likely to make errors when preparing their tax returns. The following tax tips were developed to help you avoid some of the common errors dealing with the standard deduction for seniors, the taxable amount of Social Security benefits, and the Credit for the Elderly and Disabled. In addition, you’ll find links below to helpful publications as well as information on how to obtain free tax assistance. If you do not itemize your deductions, you can get a higher standard deduction amount if you and/or your spouse are 65 years old or older. You can get an even higher standard deduction amount if either you or your spouse is blind. (See Form 1040 and Form 1040A instructions.)