It's an annual ritual most of us despise. Tax time is upon us again. Whether you're due a refund or have to pay Uncle Sam, reconnecting with our filing cabinets is still among the most dreaded tasks that most tax filers face.
Sloppy Record Keeping
Unless you're a CPA or work for the IRS, chances are you're holding on to random scraps of paper; receipts for purchases that don't qualify you for a write-off of any kind; and/or other official looking financial documents from decades gone by.
Americans tend to be pack-rats at heart when it comes to paper management. But shoving too much paper in the filing cabinet out of convenience could come back to haunt you when you sit down and do your taxes. Evaluate what paper needs to meet the shredder.
The tax code is too hard for most of us to crack, which is fine for the average taxpayer without too many exemptions. But small business owners and the self-employed will likely face additional scrutiny from Uncle Sam this year because the economic hangover we're just now emerging from means a majority of businesses have unemployment, stimulus and/or refinancing situations to account for during 2010.
Scan As You Go
You may have already made your New Years Resolutions for 2011, but taxpayers would be wise to add another one to the mix: When preparing your taxes, scan as you go. That is to say that keeping too much paper for too long can create ongoing liabilities years after you've long forgotten about tax season 2011.
Go through your paper records carefully, determine which ones are tax-dependent, make a pile to rel=nofollow [
http://www.copyscan.com/business_services/scan-shred/]scan and shred the rest. Not only will you have a good head start for next year's taxes, but you'll be better organized as well. Less paper usually means less stress for business owners and self-employed taxpayers.
Emancipation Day Irony
According to the IRS, taxpayers will have until Monday, April 18 to file their 2010 tax returns and pay any taxes due because Emancipation Day, a holiday observed in the District of Columbia, falls this year on Friday, April 15. By law, District of Columbia holidays impact tax deadlines in the same way that federal holidays do; therefore, all taxpayers will have three extra days to file this year. But if you're filing a Schedule A, you'll have even more time to wade through and edit all the extra paperwork you may be facing.
In addition to the Emancipation Day extension, the IRS has also enacted a waiting period for taxpayers claiming exemptions - But the agency has not yet announced when those filing a Schedule A can send in their documents.
Taxpayers requesting an extension will have until Oct. 17 to file their 2010 tax returns.
Offshore Accounts On The Radar
The IRS expects to receive more than 140 million individual tax returns this year, with most of those being filed by the April 18 deadline. Of those who file, those who fall under a certain tax filing status may find themselves audited - Among them, taxpayers and corporate entities that maintain offshore bank accounts.
In a statement on its Web site, the IRS cautioned taxpayers with foreign accounts to properly report income from these accounts and file the appropriate forms on time to avoid stiff penalties.
"The IRS has made important strides at stopping tax avoidance using offshore accounts," said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman in a statement on the IRS Web site. "We continue to focus on offshore tax compliance and people with offshore accounts need to pay taxes on income from those accounts." [
http://www.recordshred.com]recordSHRED is the secure document and product destruction leader in South Florida. Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, recordSHRED was founded in 2003 and specializes in business and residential shredding services.
Article Source: [
http://EzineArticles.com/?Tax-Time-Tip-For-Small-Biz:-Scan-As-You-Go&id=5745530] Tax Time Tip For Small Biz: Scan As You Go
