Top Four Tax Errors That Can Be Costly For Small Businesses When Dealing With The IRS

A small business owner often wears many different hats. They might have to wear their boss hat one day, and the employee hat the next. When tax season comes around, it might be their tax hat but even innocently failing to comply with tax laws, violating tax codes, or filling out forms incorrectly can leave business owners open to possible penalties and headaches from the IRS.

Being aware of common mistakes can also help tame the stress of tax time.

When it comes to the IRS, here are the top four mistakes business owners should avoid:

1. Underpaying estimated taxes

Business owners should generally make estimated tax payments if they expect to owe tax of $1,000 or more when their return is filed. If they don’t pay enough tax through withholding and estimated tax payments, the IRS can charge a penalty.

2. Under-depositing (or failing to deposit) employment taxes

Business owners with employees are expected to deposit taxes they withhold, plus the employer’s share of those taxes, through electronic fund transfers.  If those taxes are not deposited correctly and on time, the IRS can charge penalties to the business owner.

3. Filing late

Just like individual returns, business tax returns must be filed in a timely manner. To avoid late filing penalties, taxpayers should be aware of all IRS tax requirements for their type of business the filing deadlines.

4. Not separating business and personal expenses

It can be tempting to use one credit card for all expenses especially if the business is a sole proprietorship. Doing so can make it very hard to tell legitimate business expenses from personal ones. This could cause errors when claiming deductions and become a problem if the taxpayer or their business is ever audited as the IRS will be looking deny deductions which are suspected to be personal.      

What Should You Do?

Consider dropping the tax hat and instead engage qualified tax representation.

You know that at the Law Offices Of Jeffrey B. Kahn, P.C. we are always thinking of ways that our clients can save on taxes. If you are selected for an audit, stand up to the IRS by getting representation. Tax problems are usually a serious matter and must be handled appropriately so it’s important to that you’ve hired the best lawyer for your particular situation. The tax attorneys at the Law Offices Of Jeffrey B. Kahn, P.C. located in Orange County (Irvine), San Francisco and elsewhere in California are highly skilled in handling tax matters and can effectively represent at all levels with the IRS and State Tax Agencies including criminal tax investigations and attempted prosecutions, undisclosed foreign bank accounts and other foreign assets, and unreported foreign income. Also, if you are involved in cannabis, check out what our cannabis tax attorney can do for you. Additionally, if you are involved in crypto currency, check out what a bitcoin tax attorney can do for you.