How Did It Go Getting Your Taxes Filed This Year?
Was it an easy and painless process for you? If so, that’s GREAT! Or, were you one of the 5.5 million business owners or 10.25 individuals that filed a tax extension this year? Will you be spending the next few months frantically trying to get everything together for your accountant? How stressful is that? How much time will you waste looking for things? What would you rather be doing instead?
Eliminate That Stress!
Did you know? The IRS reports that the most common reasons for not filing on time are:
- Businesses that did not have everything in order
- First time filing
- Missing receipts for deductions
- W2 issues such as companies going out of business
- Personal issues such as a death in the family
- Filing as married for the first time
- Owning a home for the first time
3 Major Problems
The Streamlined Office consistently sees 3 major problems that affect tax filing (and office organization in general). Does your reason fall into one of these categories?
First, life sometimes throws a curve ball your way and you get temporarily derailed. This is where personal issues related to health and family often come into play. If you have a good underlying system, you will be able to get back on track quickly and painlessly. If you didn’t have a good system to start with, this is where the stress comes in.
Second, is the lack of a record retention schedule. In other words, do you know what you need to keep, why you need to keep it or for how long? If not, The Streamlined Office has created a complimentary download to get you started. A business-based record retention schedule will look similar but the types of records will be unique to your particular industry and regulations. In addition to the IRS website, your legal or accounting representatives are a good resource to help you understand what documents you need to keep for tax purposes and for how long.
Third, is the lack of a system or process by which to capture tax-related information throughout the year. Creating a streamlined paper filing system and/or digital filing system is critical to having all the information you need at your fingertips when tax times rolls around.
NOW Is The Perfect Time!
Regardless of what category or categories you fall into, NOW is the perfect time to put a system in place. Do you need to gather up your information to file by the extension deadline? Great! Establish the guidelines and system as you gather the necessary information.
Did you manage to file on time but found the whole process stressful? Did your accountant have to call multiple times looking for all the information that was needed? Perfect! You can learn from that and establish a system while the required information is still fresh in your mind from April. Moving forward, you will be ready for next year.
If you need help establishing a system to capture all of your important, tax-related documents, The Streamlined Office can help. Contact us at 480-221-0588 for more information or to schedule a free consultation.