Businesses
By this point in filing season, it is possible, perhaps even likely, that you have heard from your accountant multiple times, especially if they have not received your business tax and financial information.
DON’T FORGET: If your business has a March 15th filing deadline, and you do not wish to file an extension, plan on having your business information to your accountant no later than February 15th.
At this point in tax season, your accountant probably has a backlog of two weeks or more work, and they probably won’t put your year-end work at the top of their list.
Bear in mind that a shorter return preparation turnaround leaves your accountant with less time to explore opportunities that could save you significant tax dollars. That is not ideal. If you are having difficulty carving out time to assembly your tax information, call your accountant. They may have personnel that can come to your office to assist.
Individuals
Now that we are one month into the new year, you should begin receiving tax documents reporting your wages, retirement income, and other sources of taxable income. Some documents will arrive later. Many investment firms delay sending tax reporting documents until mid- to late-March. Also, owners of a pass through entities such as partnerships, LLCs, S corporations and trusts know that the timing of those documents varies widely.
Late-to-arrive documents for investment income and passthrough income commonly require taxpayers to extend their returns–if you know that you will need an extension for these or any other reasons, contact your accountant now to schedule that extension. At that time, they can also assist you in setting up quarterly tax payments for this year.
On the deductions side, you should assemble documents substantiating your real-estate taxes, car tags, mortgage interest, and charitable contributions. If you have high dollar unreimbursed medical expenses, you will want to prepare a schedule of those expenditures for possible deduction as well. Remember that while you may take the standard deduction for federal tax purposes ($12,200 for individuals, $24,400 for married taxpayers), you may be eligible to itemize deductions on your state return.
See also our blog on Year-End Tax Tips
And Best January Tax Tips 2020 (it’s not too late to attend to some of these!)
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