Archives

INCOME TAX PROJECTIONS
How much is enough? Do you know if you are going to owe money to the IRS for the 3rd and 4th quarter? Have you paid in all you need to for the current year? Will you owe even more? These are all important questions that, as a self-employed business person, you need to know the answers to. The reason for this is to enable you to plan for the next six months to a year. You may need planning to alleviate any tax problems and for tax strategy or to purchase a new truck. Though your records should be looked at by your tax preparer throughout the year so that he can spot potential problems or adjust your estimated taxes, a tax projection based on your operations will best indicate what your tax situation is currently and what it will become next April 15. Your tax preparer can prepare a tax projection and leave enough time until the end of the year to do proper tax planning or to adjust your estimated taxes to minimize any potential penalties. Paying estimated taxes based on your tax projections can save needless penalties.

GET THOSE BACK TAXES FILED
Not filing your income tax return can get you into serious trouble. If you don't file for one year, the odds are you are going to be afraid to file for the next year. And suddenly you haven't filed for 3, 4, or 5 years because you are afraid to contact the IRS.

It is best to file back tax returns before the IRS contacts you. The fact that you are not able to pay the back taxes should not prevent you from filing the returns. Once the tax return has been filed, you may discuss with the IRS your payment options. You should also try to get the penalties waived if you have a reasonable excuse. The interest, however, cannot be waived except in rare cases. If the IRS comes after you before you have taken the steps to file the delinquent returns, it is still not too late to work out a solution. The IRS will typically accept a reasonable timetable for filing the back returns. Once all the back returns are filed the IRS will usually negotiate a monthly installment agreement.

Ignoring your ITS problems is only going to make matters worst. The best thing to do is handle the problem head on. If you do owe the IRS, negotiated for reasonable monthly payments. The key to getting out fo debt with the IRS is to get on a monthly payment program for back taxes while making estimated tax payments on the current years taxes.

This article has been presented by PBS Tax & Bookkeeping Service, a company that has been providing income tax and bookkeeping services to the trucking industry for over a quarter century. If you would like further information, please contact us at 800-697-5153. Visit our Web Site at www.pbstax.com.

"Everyone's financial situation is different. This article does not give and is not intended to give specific accounting and/or tax advice. Please consult with your own tax or accounting professional."

 

Everyone's financial situation is different. This article does not give and is not intended to give specific accounting and/or tax advice. Please consult with your own tax or accounting professional.

This article has been presented by PBS Tax & Bookkeeping Service, a company that has been providing income tax and bookkeeping services to the trucking industry for over a quarter century. Contributions to this article were made by Shasta May, Director Business Development for PBS. If you would like further information, please contact us at 800-697-5153. See our website at www.pbstax.com.