Tax help tips from services? If you have business income and expenses to report on Schedule C, you will need to share your books and records (for example, QuickBooks or any other accounting system you use, receipts for expenses, and relevant bank and credit card statements).16? The better organized your records are, the less time it will take a preparer to process your taxes, which translates into lower fees for their service.
The more money you make, the more complicated your taxes are going to be. So, if you have a higher income than most people, it’s important to work with a skilled accountant to figure out how to reduce the amount of income taxes you pay. In addition to taking your standard deduction and other deductions, there are many things you can do to lower the amount you pay. Let’s start with an overview of tax rules for high income earners. For the sake of this post, we’ll consider anybody in the top three tax brackets as a high income earner. That means that if you earn more than $163,301 in gross income as a single earner and $326,601 if you’re married filing jointly, you are a high income earner.
Pick Up Capital Gains if You’re in a Low Tax Bracket: The end of the year is also a good time for some people to sell stocks that have appreciated significantly in value. This can be a particularly good strategy for those who are in the 10% and 12% tax brackets since their capital gains tax may be zero. The stocks can then be repurchased, which resets the basis and minimizes the amount of tax to be paid on future gains. Even if you’re not in the lowest tax brackets, you may want to sell winning stocks to reset the basis if you’re also harvesting losses. “What you want to do is balance (gains) with stocks that have losses,” Barlin says.
Tax credits are the federal government’s way of encouraging businesses and individuals to do things—or not do things—that affect the greater good. For example, you can take tax credits for hiring employees, going green, providing access to disabled employees and the public, and providing health coverage for employees. Most are part of the General Business Credit, which is quite extensive so it’s quite possible that you qualify under some of its terms. Check with your accountant. Find more information at https://greentree.tax/best-bookkeeping-service-in-houston-texas/.
Avoid Confrontation and Manipulation. Attempt to find out if the debtor’s excuse for not paying is legitimate. For example, if the person blames the non-payment on someone else, confirm this is true or false by contacting the other person. Listen carefully to what the person is telling you, and get a sense of whether the person is being honest with you. Often, your gut feeling will be right on.
Carving out a few minutes every January to make sure you’re making things easy for your accountant can help reduce the risk of a mistake come April or an audit later. But we recommend talking to your tax accountant more often than twice a year. In fact, we recommend chatting regularly — even monthly. You’ll have a better handle on your business and can plan for any tax law changes. Recording income and expenses in real-time allows you and your accountant to catch any mistakes early. And your accountant will know your business better and be more empowered to offer proactive, consultative advice. According to the OnPay 2019 Small Business Finance and HR Report, small business owners who have a strong relationship with their accountant are 32% more likely to expect a significant increase in revenue over the next year.