HOW DO I GET STARTED AND WHERE DO I BEGIN FOR SMALL BUSINESS TAX RETURN PREPARATION? …
Don’t wait to the Last minute!
The 2011 tax year Personal tax returns are due April 17th this year. However, if you have certain types of small businesses, such as an S-Corporation or even a Regular C-Corporation Type entity, the filing deadline for most calendar-year corporation tax returns is March 15th of each year.
It is important to note, that for certain types of business entities, such as S-Corporations and Limited Liability Corporations (“LLC”s) – since these are generally taxed as “pass-through type entities,” and the net taxable income or loss passes through to and is used in the tax calculation of the owners’ personal tax return,…the tax returns for these types of entities must be completed before the personal tax return of the owners’ !!
So, if you started a company during last year, and you are used to waiting until April to get your tax return done – you may be pushing the envelope as far as the deadlines to get both the business and personal tax returns done in time for the April personal filing deadline.
Worse, you may even miss the company tax return filing deadline should it be March 15th and risk penalties – or not leave enough time to finish both the LLC and the Personal Tax Return by the mid-April filing deadline!
It is important to realize that when you have a business, there may be other applicable earlier and more frequent interim Federal, State & Local tax form and tax filing deadlines compared to when you were just only filing a personal tax return before as an employee of someone else!
If you do in fact run out of time, you can perhaps file an extension. However, remember that an extension is generally only an extension of time to file, not to pay the taxes. Most Federal and State business and personal tax extensions require you to calculate and/or estimate as accurately as possible the amount of taxes due to be paid by the deadline and to pay that along with the extension – even if the forms are filed later – or you can risk incurring substantial penalties and interest.
With the right pre-planning and professional tax guidance form a certified tax professional, you can strive to be ahead of the game going forward…instead of behind the eight-ball!
Should you have questions or need Business or Individual Tax Advice, or help with FIRPTA:
Our firm may be contacted at:
PHONE: (305) 672-4272 [4CPA]
E-MAIL: DAVID@CPA-FL.COM
WEBSITE: WWW.CPA-FL.COM
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Read about this topic and the full story by Joyce Rosenberg of the Associated Press 1/27/12 as reported on Yahoo News on Yahoo.com:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/getting-started-small-business-tax-return-220446527.html
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