As a small business owner, how can I become more proactive with tax planning?

One of the biggest mistakes that a small business owner can make is preparing for the tax season after the current tax year is already over.  Most business owners view taxes as an inevitable cost of doing business and therefore wait until the very

last moment to begin preparing to incur this expense.  This is a mistake because it is hard to save tax dollars when the tax year is over.  A small business owner must rely on his or her accountant to do more than fill out tax forms before the tax deadline.  Small business owners need to be proactive and request a meeting with their accountant at the beginning of the 4th quarter of the current tax year.  By preparing for the tax season early, a business owner may be able to take advantage of certain provisions within the tax code to benefit his or her business operationally and at the same time, reduce the amount of taxes they owe.

 

Is there an advantage to engaging Laciak>cpa to prepare my taxes instead of a national chain?

Unlike a national chain, where typically only one person is doing the work once a year, a full-service CPA firm, such as Laciak>cpa, has a tax return review process in place. This means that your tax return is reviewed by a team of accountants with

different technical skills and experiences.  Our review team is exclusively made up of certified public accountants, each with an insider’s perspective on your business or personal financial situation.  If you develop an ongoing relationship with the right accountant, then you won’t have to get by with only a one-time meeting.  We take the time to learn your business and help you increase the bottom line as a result of all your hard work.

As a small business owner, what should I look out for concerning tax preparation?

Anyone can enter numbers on the lines of a tax form. That’s why we encourage you to find an accountant who is more than a scorekeeper. Business owners need to make sure that they are working with a professional who is proactive in planning

for the end of the tax year so there won’t be any surprises. If you do not have some idea of the amount of tax you will owe before December 31st, then your accountant did not adequately do his or her job. You must also make sure that your accountant communicates to you the adjustments that he or she made to the business’ accounting records in preparing the tax return. Otherwise, your business records will not properly reflect what was reported to the IRS. Remember, the accounting records in the current year affect the accounting records in all future years. That’s way it is imperative for your accountant to provide you with the correct and final numbers. You need to make sure that all future business decisions are based upon accurate information so that next year’s tax preparation will not be hindered by an incorrect starting point.

As an individual taxpayer, how can I help make yearly tax preparation go smoothly?

Most importantly, take time to organize your tax information. We help our clients with this process by giving them a tax organizer each year end. We feel it’s critical for them to fill it out completely and return it to us as soon as

possible. You don’t want your accountant to have to spend time filling out your tax organizer for you. His or her time is better spent interpreting what’s inside it. Quite simply, if your accountant doesn’t know the changes in your life over the past year, he or she will miss opportunities to save you money.  This same advice applies to small business owners. Small business owners should be diligent in ensuring that they have support for all of the numbers in the business’ financials. The less time that an accountant needs to spend on organizing a business’ accounting records, the more time they can spend on developing a strategy to save tax dollars and make the business more profitable.

 

 

Is there an advantage to engaging Laciak>cpa to prepare my taxes instead of a national chain?

Unlike a national chain, where typically only one person is doing the work once a year, a full-service CPA firm, such as Laciak>cpa, has a tax return review process in place. This means that your tax return is reviewed by a team of accountants with

different technical skills and experiences.  Our review team is exclusively made up of certified public accountants, each with an insider’s perspective on your business or personal financial situation.  If you develop an ongoing relationship with the right accountant, then you won’t have to get by with only a one-time meeting.  We take the time to learn your business and help you increase the bottom line as a result of all your hard work.

As a small business owner, what should I look out for concerning tax preparation?

Anyone can enter numbers on the lines of a tax form. That’s why we encourage you to find an accountant who is more than a scorekeeper. Business owners need to make sure that they are working with a professional who is proactive in planning

for the end of the tax year so there won’t be any surprises. If you do not have some idea of the amount of tax you will owe before December 31st, then your accountant did not adequately do his or her job. You must also make sure that your accountant communicates to you the adjustments that he or she made to the business’ accounting records in preparing the tax return. Otherwise, your business records will not properly reflect what was reported to the IRS. Remember, the accounting records in the current year affect the accounting records in all future years. That’s way it is imperative for your accountant to provide you with the correct and final numbers. You need to make sure that all future business decisions are based upon accurate information so that next year’s tax preparation will not be hindered by an incorrect starting point.

Request More Info

To request more info about Laciak’s FAQs and services please contact:
Margaret Griggs, Director of Operations – mgriggs@laciak.com or call (219) 864-7000