We’ve all got big goals for 2010 — but before we can get to them, we have to get 2009 off our plates. That means not only closing the books on last year, but getting them ready for tax season. For some of us, it can take right up to April 15th to be done with 2009, but the sooner you can wind up the 2009 tax year, the better shape you’ll be in for 2010.
Get Your CPA on the Phone
If you can schedule a time to talk to your CPA or tax preparer before handing him your shoebox full of receipts from last year, he can make it worth your while. Most importantly — at least from your tax preparer’s point of view — he can go over exactly what documentation you need to bring in so that your tax return can be prepared. While you may have a good idea what to bring from doing your 2008 taxes, if anything changed in the last year (like you hired an employee, you started carrying more inventory or you changed your business’ structure), you may need to bring in some more documentation.
On top of that, though, your CPA may be able to give you some last minute advice on minimizing your business’ tax burden. While 2009 is over, you can still take a few steps: for instance, if you have a retirement account set up, you may still be able to contribute towards the 2009 limit. Since you’re there already, you should take to your CPA about planning for 2010 as well. Go beyond tax planning: your CPA can talk to you about ways to minimize payroll costs, improve cash flow for your business and generally meet your goals for the next year.
Get Your Books in Order
While we all have just made resolutions to keep up with the paperwork in 2010, there may still be some 2009 items sitting in your inbox. It’s time to get those dealt with so that you can close the books, back them up and send them off to the tax preparer — the sooner, the better if your CPA is one of the many whose prices go up on tax returns when March rolls around.
If you worked with contractors during 2009, you have only about a month left to get your Form 1099s prepared and sent off to both your contractors and the IRS. If you paid payroll taxes for employees, it’s also time to get your Form W-2s sent out. You have until the end of January to send them to employees and until the end of February to send them to the IRS. For both forms, you can face some penalties if you don’t get them mailed off in time. It’s worth talking to your CPA about these forms, as well — some will prepare these additional forms, as well as provide bookkeeping services to make sure that your books for 2009 are done correctly.
Google+Web.com is now offering forums designed to support small businesses in cities throughout the US. Learn more about these forums here: http://Businessforum.web.com/
Tags: bookkeeping, cpa, taxes
Posted in Accounting and Taxes | 3 Comments »
