Christmas Came Early - Know Your Tax Return Today!

Most people have a steady paycheck that they rely on, this can be true for many people along many different industries. A good tip that I offer my clients is to look to the past to know what will happen in the future. Taxes don’t really change much so as long as you have a consistent paycheck and your deductions are the same as last year’s then you should have a pretty good idea of what your tax return is going to be next year.

Have things changed since last year? Did you make any significant lifestyle changes such as: getting married, buying a house, retirement, new employment? If the answer is yes to any of those questions, then your taxes will be probably much different and you’ll need someone to help you ensure you are getting all the deductions needed.

Most simple taxes can be done and filed on your own, however if you have one of these big changes happening in your life you may to make sure that you have a tax accountant or an expert to ensure that you get the maximum deductions. Some people like to think that they can take shortcuts and save money by doing it themselves, however - hiring an expert can save you more. Sometimes covering way more, typically taking care of the fee you’re paying a tax consultant and also a bigger return.

Accounting for the New Year

It’s the holiday season and everyone seems to be preoccupied with holiday parties, shopping and merriment all around; this is all great and I am probably one of the people that loves this season more than anyone else. However, tax season is not far from now, only a couple of months away if you really think about it. As a business owner or even as an individual how are your finances right now? Do you know where you stand as far as profits and losses for the year?

These are questions that you should be asking yourself right now, not next year. Once the fiscal year closes, it may be too hard to get tax write offs by making business related investments. If you have employees, you should make sure that you have all your numbers in order because you’ll be providing them with the right tax documentation so they can file in a timely manner. This is something that you should not be left as a last minute task, this needs to be present on your mind right now.

Zoho Books offers a great little cheat sheet for those who may need a little bit of a reminder on the things you’ll need to do before the year closes:

• Reconcile your bank accounts
• Complete your invoicing
• Record all your supplier bills
• Write off bad debts
• Get to the bottom and look for outliers
• Record your depreciation
• Handle prepaid expenses
• Close out the owner’s draw
• Get started with 1099s now

I know getting a lot of these things done before the end of the year can be a little bit overwhelming with the holidays being right around the corner but trust me on this one, you’ll be very happy that you got these done once tax season comes around.

To read the full article provided by Zoho Books, click here.