For many people, tax season can be a mad scramble full of document-hunting, form-filling and nail-biting. But it doesn’t have to be.

Starting your tax prep well before the deadline can make your life way less stressful—especially if you own a business and plan to claim deductions.

If you want to get a head start on your taxes this year, follow our guide to getting your business ready for tax season:

Step 1: Get your bookkeeping in order

Without updated books, you can’t file your taxes. Here’s what you need to do before tax season hits to get your books in shape.

Make sure all of your business transactions are recorded properly

Screwing up your taxes because of a missing or erroneous transaction can be stressful—but also easily avoidable.

Make sure you’re recording all of your business transactions in your general ledger, and that you’re categorizing each transaction as accurately and consistently as you can. If you’re paying a developer to build an app for your Cat Cafe, for example, don’t record it as an “investment” one month and a “marketing expense” the other. Be consistent.

Make sure your books are balanced

If you use double-entry accounting, make sure that your books are balanced—that is, that the sum of all the credits is equal to the sum of all debits.

If you’re using a program like QuickBooks, don’t worry about this part—it should be done automatically.

Reconcile your bank accounts

“Reconciling” is just a fancy accounting term for make sure your books match your bank records.” But doing so can save you and your bookkeeper loads of time and trouble in April.

Your bookkeeping isn’t really done until you’ve checked it against what the bank says.

Separate personal and business expenses

Not separating personal and business expenses can become a huge headache around tax time. It generally takes more time to sort through expenses when they’re mixed up in one account, and you might miss some deductions.

The sooner you open a small business account and separate your personal and business accounts, the better.

Talk to a professional

Doing everything yourself can be a great way to save money, but habing an experienced CPA or tax professional take a look at your books is a wise decision in making sure you’re set up properly, that you’re taking advantage of the right year end tax moves, and that your business is in good shape for tax season.

Step 2: Get your deductions and paperwork organized

A big part of the tax season scramble is hunting for receipts. You need proof for all your deductions, just in case you get audited by the IRS.

Once you’ve completed Step 1 and your transactions are all tagged, you’ll have a better idea of which receipts you need to track down.

Not sure which expenses are tax-deductible? Start with this big list of tax deductions.

Go paperless

The IRS requires you to keep all business records for three years. Intimidated by the mass of receipts, invoices and payroll records gathering dust in the corner of your office? Worried about losing your records in a fire?

You can solve all of these problems by digitizing your records.

Secure cloud storage services like Dropbox, Evernote, or Google Drive. Any of these websites will support scanning and storing.

Step 3: Set aside enough tax money

If you owe at least $1,000 in taxes, the IRS usually requires you to make estimated tax payments through the year. Setting aside tax money becomes a lot less painful if you follow a few simple rules:

Use the 30% rule

If you’re not sure how much you owe in federal taxes, set aside 30%. That’s percentage should cover the vast number of small businesses if you’re not clear on your exact tax obligations.

Choose a saving method

You have three options for how to save up for taxes.

  • The per-payment method: Every time you receive a payment from a client or customer, put 30% of it into a business savings account. Ideal for beginners who don’t have a good sense of how much they’ll be making this year.

  • The monthly method: Total up all the income you’ve made this year so far, divide it by the number of months to get your average monthly income, and calculate whatever 30% of that is. That’s how much you should be putting aside in taxes. Ideal for businesses that are just starting to make a profit, who expect to pay more taxes this year than last.

  • The yearly method: Take last year’s business total income, divide it by four, then calculate 30% of that amount. The result is how much you need to save (and pay) for your quarterly estimated tax payments. Ideal if you don’t expect your business income to drastically change this year.)

Keep your tax money in a separate account

To avoid the temptation of dipping into your tax savings, you should keep them away from your day-to-day finances in a separate business bank account.

If you don’t want to think about setting aside money every month or quarter, consider setting up recurring automatic bank transfers into the account.

Get clear on state-specific taxes

In addition to federal taxes, there are state and local taxes you might need to pay, including sales, franchise, property, and excise taxes.

Read up about state-specific taxes well ahead of time (this is available on the Florida Department of Revenue website for your state’s tax authority) and work with your CPA to make sure you aren’t forgetting any.

Step 4: Read up on tax reform (and how it affects you)

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) took effect on January 1, 2018, and it will mean big changes for the way C corporation and pass-through entities pay their taxes.

Here’s a brief summary of how the TCJA might affect your return:

C corporations get a flat 21% income tax rate

This is a huge tax break for businesses of any size. Whether your C corporation earns $1 or $100,000,000, you’ll pay 21% of that amount in income tax.

Pass-through entities get a 20% tax deduction

If your company is a pass-through entity, the most significant TCJA change is a tax deduction of up to 20%, which will be applied to your Qualified Business Income (QBI).

But there are some limitations, especially if you’re a Specialized Service Business (lawyers, consultants, artists, etc.) or if you have employees. It’s complicated—check out this guide from the Tax Policy Centre for a full breakdown of the deduction.

No more write-offs for games of golf or courtside tickets with a client

That’s right: the TCJA has completely eliminated or drastically reduced some common expense deductions for businesses, including:

  • Client entertainment expenses (used to be 50% deductible, now 0%)

  • Office snacks and meals (used to be 100% deductible, now 50%)

  • Employee transit and parking benefits (used to be 100% deductible, now 0%)

How to adjust your books for the TCJA

The IRS hasn’t published a full summary of all the deduction changes yet. To prepare for them, we’d recommend you make two changes to your bookkeeping:

  • Create a separate ledger for client meals and client entertainment, since they may be deducted differently

  • Create a new ledger called “Transportation Fringe Benefits,” since they’re deducted differently than other fringe benefits under the TCJA


At Nugent & Associates, we're not just number crunchers. We bring over 3 decades of invaluable certified public accounting and tax expertise to your company – serving as business and financial strategists who can offer such services as tax and financial planning, investment advice, diligent financial records, and help with estate planning.

Even better, we will give you time to focus on what you do best: running the day-to-day operations that drive your business toward success.

Take advantage of our FREE and no obligation business checkup.

We will visit you at your business at a time and day convenient for you, analyze your numbers, discuss your goals and concerns and report back with a complimentary detailed written analysis to help your business succeed!

At Nugent & Associates, we're not just number crunchers. Our people bring decades of invaluable certified public accounting and financial and tax expertise to you – offering tax and financial strategies to individuals such as yourself. If you have any questions or concerns about your own tax, financial or investment matters, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Experienced tax and financial experts are not just for the super rich. At a reasonable fee you too can maximize your wealth and receive professional guidance for retirement, and/or any tax issues you may be facing, no matter your situation, with a tax and financial expert as your consultant.

Contact Nugent & Associates today. We don't charge for phone calls. You may just find you found an ally in your quest to have a great financial future.

After all, at Nugent & Associates, we succeed when you succeed!


Disclaimer:

PLEASE READ THE FULL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS WEBSITE BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE.

This page is intended to be informational. This website, nor any of the information contained on this site constitutes professional, business, tax or legal advice and is not a substitute for such advice nor does it create a professional-client relationship between you and Nugent & Associates.

State and federal laws change frequently, and the information in this page may not reflect your own state’s laws or the most recent changes to the law.

The information contained within this website should not be considered as a solicitation or an offer for a professional-client relationship. Materials contained in this website are of a general nature and should not be substituted for professional advice. Nugent & Associates is providing this website and the information contained herein only as a convenience to you. Nugent & Associates assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions contained within this website. There is no guarantee that the information included on this site is current, accurate, complete, useful, or reliable.

Tax Planning & Preparation

We assist our clients in individual and business tax planning throughout the year.

Nugent & Associates provides:
  • Year-Round analysis to ensure a smooth and predictable year-end close.
  • Assist in establishing retirement planning.
  • Performs in-depth review of all deductions available.

Monthly/Quarterly
Financial Statements


Nugent & Associates offers outstanding accounting services and acts as a quasi-controller for companies who do not employ their own full-time accountants.

This allows our clients with more time to focus on new services, new customers and other core business issues.

Business Planning, Budgeting
& Growth Strategies


Nugent & Associates assists it clients with:
  • Starting a new venture, product or service
  • Expanding a current organization, product or service
  • Buying a new business, product or service
  • Turning around a declining business

QuickBooks Training
& Support Services


As Certified QuickBooks Professional Advisors, we can be of assistance with QuickBooks accounting or payroll and help increase your productivity and efficiency.