Tax day is almost here, what if you aren’t ready?

Taxes are due this Thursday, April 15th.  If you have already files and spent your refund, congratulations.  Normally I have already filed by this time, however, this year has been crazy so I am in the latter group.  With tax day fast approaching, I am going crazy trying to get my taxes and business info together enough that I can have a decent estimate to file with the IRS when I file for an extension.

Since I, like many Americans, started a business this year, I not only have to file an extension for my personal taxes, I also have to file an extension on my business information return.  Depending on the structure of your business, you may have additional returns and extensions to request as well.  Solely owned businesses that are not incorporated are not required to file separate informational returns, instead all the business income and deductible expenses are listed on the owner’s personal income tax return.  However, if your business is incorporated, an LLC, or a partnership, you are probably going to need to file a separate return.  This may only be an informational return or it may be a full income tax return.  For example, corporations are treated as separate entities and pay their own income taxes just like a person.  Partnerships, however, are only required to file informational returns on what the partnership earned and spent and the taxes are actually paid by the partners based on their % of income and expenses from the partnership.

Yes, this all sounds very complicated, and if you don’t know what you are doing, it can be very scary.  However, there is plenty of excellent tax software out there to help you or you can go to a paid tax preparer or your accountant to ensure that everything is done right the first time.