We cannot possibly stress the importance of investing time each month to calculate your small business taxes and making proper payments required by the IRS. Many small business owners are simply wearing too many hats making tax calculations each month near impossible and taking from the personalization you would like to provide as the owner of your business.
As small businesses are now seeing the beginning of the end of the first quarter of 2018, you’re already making preparations to complete and pay your taxes at the end of the year. Since the beginning of 2018, you’ve already taken the steps required to remain in compliance with the Internal Revenue Service. If so, you’ve already:
- Met the January 16th deadline for payment of your 2017 fourth quarter estimated taxes.
- If you have employees and contractors, you will have met your January 31st deadline to deliver and file W-2 forms to your employees and by February 28th, 1099 forms for 2017 to all of your contractors.
- If your business is an S-Corporation (S-Corp) you will have met your March 15, 2018, deadline for filing your 1120S or if your business is a partnership you will have filed your 1065.
- If your company required an automatic extension, or if you wanted to register to become an S-Corp, this was also the deadline date for these filings.
Below you will find the remaining important dates to remember for 2018 with regard to tax deadlines, forms, and other pertinent information:
- March 31, 2018, will be your deadline to electronically file 1098s and 1099s (exception for 1099 MISC).
Tax Day for 2018 (that would usually fall on April 15th), this year, tax day will be on Tuesday, April 17, 2018, inasmuch as April 15th will fall on a Sunday. April 17, 2018, will be the deadline for the following:
- Filing forms 1040EZ, 1040 and 1040A
- C-Corp must file form 1120 to pay taxes on profits.
- April 17 is also the deadline for all 2017 payments to the IRS for the fourth quarter of that calendar year.
- Deposits for installment one (1) for 2018 is now due for estimated payments for the first quarter of 2018.
- For personal, individual returns, if you feel you will require an extension, this will be the deadline date for filing extension form 4868.
April 22, 2018 –
- If you’ve already submitted an e-filing that was rejected by the IRS, you will be required to resubmit your returns by April 22, 2018 (unless you have filed for an extension). The only way to avoid fees and penalties is to resubmit your returns by this deadline date. Otherwise, your deadline date will be October 20, 2018, at which time you will also be required to calculate additional fees and penalties.
April 30, 2018 –
- This is the deadline to make the deposit of your Federal Unemployment Tax (Act) (also known as FUTA) Reporting of this particular tax would be completed by filing IRS form 940.
June 15,2018 –
- This will be your deadline date for making 2018 second quarter estimated tax payments.
September 17,2018 –
- There are a couple of deadlines for this date. The first would be the deadline for third (3d) quarter 2018 estimated tax payments.
- If you are a partnership or S-Corp and have requested an extension, this will be the deadline for filing 2017 corporate tax returns. To complete this filing, use IRS form 1120S and IRS form 1065.
October 15, 2018 –
- If your business is a C-Corp that has filed a request for an extension, this is your deadline date for filing your returns for 2017. Use form 1120.
- This is also the final date for individual and self-employed persons who have requested a filing extension, to complete their 1040EZ, 1040A and 1040
- Please be advised that this will also be the deadline for electronic filings. Should you miss this date to file electronically, you will now be required to complete paper filings after midnight 10/15/2018.
January 15, 2019-
- This will be the deadline date for 2018 estimated tax payments to complete your 2018 fourth quarter filings.
Some Information to Consider While Filing Your Taxes:
Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)-
According to the IRS “Due to declining use and the significant increase in the AMT exemption amount provided by recent legislation, the IRS plans to retire the AMT Assistant after the 2018 filing season.”
IRS Information Regarding Marginal Tax Rate –
- These IRS Tables and Calculator will assist you in determining your taxes on your level of income.
IRS Information Regarding Capital Gains and Losses –
- You will find information with regard to capital gains and losses in IRS Publication 544. Locate and click on the link you’re interested in, and you will be taken to the information specific to your needs.
Payroll Tax Reporting “
Inasmuch as federal, city and state tax returns are prepared in different ways and at different times, you may find that you will be required to prepare and file many tax forms each month of the year. With this in mind, you may wish to consider saving time and money by outsourcing the payroll aspects of your company to a third party consultant and/or firm. This option would allow you the peace of mind you need as these consultants and firms have the ability to arrange for necessary changes by adjusting their software to meet the tax law changes as they occur.
The remaining tasks will take much less of your time on a monthly basis. If you plan to take time each month to complete all of your other tax tasks, or delegate these responsibilities to an in-house or freelance source as part of their job description, you will certainly create the opportunity to avoid the costs of penalties and interests not to mention the maddening dash to get it all done at year’s end. This alone will improve your level of profitability. This will leave you open to focus on the products and/or services that you are in business to provide and therefore allowing for the quality of client/customer services that you not only wish to provide but that your clients/customers deserve.
At Cogent Analytics, we never stop looking for ways to improve your business and neither should you. So, check out some of our other posts for helpful business information:
