Want a stress-free tax season? Here's the stuff you need to do and when you need to do it.
My mom used to always grumble when Christmas advertisements showed up a week before Thanksgiving. “They're ruining the holiday,” she said. I remember thinking Um, you're crazy…who doesn't want to think about Christmas as soon as possible?!
But now that I'm older, and the Christmas countdown starts in, like, mid-October, I get where she was coming from. In fact, I find myself grumbling at the ridiculousness of it…and there's an obvious reason why:
Because I'm now old enough to feel Christmas stress!
Think about it. When you're a kid, Christmas means just one thing: presents. (And maybe also cookies and sledding…but all fun things.) When you're a parent, it means buying those presents…and so much more, like preparing the house for guests, and planning a big holiday meal, and finding clothes for school/church/neighborhood pageants, and…
Well, you get the idea.
When an occasion brings unadulterated joy, we'll start thinking about it way ahead of schedule.
When an occasion brings stress, we put off thinking about it until the last minute.
I think you know where this is going…
The “Benefits” of Putting Off Your Tax Preparation
Can we all agree that if there's one time of year that really deserves an early-start countdown, it's tax season? Especially as small business owners. We just have way too much to do to put off thinking about it until the last minute.
[Tweet “As small business owners, we have way too much to do to put off thinking about taxes!”]But for a lot of us, the heart-stopping, teeth-grinding race of last-minute tax preparation seems ever so slightly preferable to the long, slow slog through the mess of last year's financial records. Or, worse, sitting down with high expectations of getting ahead, only to look at our books and realize we have no idea what's going on in there.
We know we got through tax season last year. (Not quite sure how, or who might have been killed in the process, but we did it.)
What we don't know is how to prepare.
In particular, we don't know how to prepare without getting depressed about the state of our record-keeping.
So we just…don't. Until it's 11.45pm the night before the filing deadline. Then we do it, because we have to.
Ugh. It's just not good for our health to stress like that, guys!
Save Yourself Some Stress…and Money!
At The Bottom Line, we may be nerdy types who love accounting, systems and a beautifully balanced accounts sheet. But we also love normal things, like visiting the park with our kids on a sunny day, or binge-watching Seinfeld episodes on Hulu, or joining our friends for spur-of-the-moment pub crawls.
And we know that the key to being able to do these things (and really enjoying them) is managing our time well throughout the week (and month, and year).
We want you to be able to enjoy every day of the next four months without the ghost of Taxes Future hovering over your head. So trust us that preparing right now, a little bit each week, is going to save you so much stress, time and…wait for it…MONEY in the long run.
[Tweet “Preparing right now is going to save you so much stress, time and…wait for it…MONEY.”]Don't worry, we'll help you through it, every step of the way. Starting with this handy countdown list of the things that need to happen in the next few months:
- March 2: Didn't pay your 4th quarter estimate? File your 2015 return today!
This is your deadline to file your 2015 tax return and not be charged a penalty for missing the 4th quarter estimate. - March 15: Corporate taxes due
You'll need Form 1120 and Form 1120S. (You're welcome.) - April 1: Lots of things due!
Gross receipts, business taxes, annual reports, personal property tax returns, etc. All of these are related to your state, city and county. To make sure you nail them all, do your research and/or consult your accountant. - April 15: Personal return, partnership return, 1st quarter estimate
In addition to your Form 1040 (duh), you also need to send in your partnership tax return (Form 1065) and your 1st quarter estimate tax payment for 2016.
Breathe, guys. It's going to be fine. We are here to help you every step of the way.
In fact, as we speak, we're putting the finishing touches on a booklet that will guide you step by step through tax season (and through the entire year leading up to next year's taxes)! It's called the 2016 Stress-Less Tax Organizer, and we'll be in touch very, very soon on how you can get it.
(If you want to hear about it within seconds of its release, click here to add your email to our list!)
The Bottom Line
Tax season is nothing to stress about–really! Just like planting bulbs in your spring garden or doing some (ahem!) personal maintenance for bikini season, a little bit of preparation is all it takes to save your sanity. Trust us, the rewards are worth your hard work!
So keep calm and carry on being the rockstar business owner that you are. You can do this. And we can help.
