Year End is Almost Here - Are You Ready?
Now that we are in the last quarter of the year, what can we do to start prepping for year end? Wouldn’t it be nice to have all of our business income and expenditures all handled and in a nice neat package ready to hand off to an accountant?
What would it feel like to be less stressed when April 15th rolls around? Here are some tips to help get started.
The big O word! Organization.
There is nothing worse than having to sort through all of your receipts for an entire year. It’s one of those things we like to procrastinate about unless you are an organization diva. Which let’s face it, not all of us were born with that gene. A simple way to organize is creating folders for each month and putting your deposits and receipts into them. Be sure to either print out or download copies of bank and credit card statements each month. Whoever is handling your bookkeeping, will thank you for being organized.
Do you make estimated quarterly tax payments?
Did you pay enough in or too much? This is the perfect time of year to make an appointment with your accountant to see if you are on track in this area. You have until January 15th to make a payment for 2018. Whether you make quarterly payments or not it is still a good idea to get with your accountant to start planning for the upcoming tax changes in 2019.
How about that IRA?
Did you make any contributions towards living those Golden Years? This is a great tax write off and you have until April 15th, 2019 to make a contribution for 2018. This would be one of those items to talk with your accountant about as well. They can help you determine how much you can contribute to maximize your tax savings.
Do you have a business in which you collect sales tax?
Are you up to date? A lot of states impose penalties and interest for not paying in a timely manner. No need to pay more than you collect as this eats into profits. You usually have until the 15th of the following month to pay sales tax.
These are just a few tips to consider. Getting yourself organized and meeting with your accountant will set you up for success for the rest of 2018 and prepare you for what’s ahead in 2019. Let’s face it, taxes can seem confusing and overwhelming, knowing what to expect and planning ahead will give you some peace of mind!
About Charise Cassetta:
I am a Freelance bookkeeper living in Charleston, South Carolina. I service most of my clients online making it easy to work from anywhere. One of my favorite parts of what I do is performing a “bookkeeping rescue”. I enjoy taking that occasional shoebox full of receipts and assembling a file for a client that helps them make sense of how their business is doing.
For questions and/or if you require any assistance, please email me at chari862@verizon.net !