Categories: Tax Advice

Last Minute Tax Organization Tips!

With only 11 days left until April 15th arrives, small business owners and entrepreneurs everywhere are scrambling to get their federal and state taxes filed and sent along to the IRS with California doing the most scrambling of all. CohnReznick recently reported in one of their company newsletters that for LLCs and Corporations in California that fail to file their tax returns on time, they may wind up paying a $2,000 penalty as issued by the California Franchise Tax Board.

Don’t endanger your overall tax position – take our CEO Deborah’s tips into consideration when it comes to getting your taxes prepped and sent on their way. Best of all, these tips can be applied to the years to come beyond the 2013 tax year and once they’re in place will make filing taxes in the future much easier and more organized.

1) Make sure you have your documents prepared.

It’s never a good idea to walk into your tax preparer’s office with piles of paperwork scattered all over the place or worse, with nothing ready at all. Prep your documents several months in advance so they’re ready for April 15th.

2) Stay organized over the course of the year rather than waiting until last minute.

Tax season is the last place you want to fashionably late to – by keeping all of your documents and paperwork organized with a bookkeeper or safe within a cloud storage system, you can ensure that you won’t be going on a frenzied hunt for receipts.

3) Respond quickly to a notice and demand to file.

You only have 60 days which can go by pretty quick! Set up a reminder service (like MyCorp’s IncGuard) to keep you on track – this system sends monthly reminders about annual reports, quarterly tax returns, year-end notices, and much more!

Deborah Sweeney

Deborah Sweeney is an advocate for protecting personal and business assets for business owners and entrepreneurs. With extensive experience in the field of corporate and intellectual property law, Deborah provides insightful commentary on the benefits of incorporation and trademark registration. Education: Deborah received her Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration degrees from Pepperdine University, and has served as an adjunct professor at the University of West Los Angeles and San Fernando School of Law in corporate and intellectual property law. Experience: After becoming a partner at LA-based law firm, Michel & Robinson, she became an in-house attorney for MyCorporation, formerly a division in Intuit. She took the company private in 2009 and after 10 years of entrepreneurship sold the company to Deluxe Corporation. Deborah is also well-recognized for her written work online as a contributing writer with some of the top business and entrepreneurial blogging sites including Forbes, Business Insider, SCORE, and Fox Business, among others. Fun facts/Other pursuits: Originally from Southern California, Deborah enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, Benjamin and Christopher, and practicing Pilates. Deborah believes in the importance of family and credits the entrepreneurial business model for giving her the flexibility to enjoy both a career and motherhood. Deborah, and MyCorporation, have previously been honored by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal’s List of the Valley’s Largest Women-Owned Businesses in 2012. MyCorporation received the Stevie Award for Best Women-Owned Business in 2011.