Why Should I Separate My Business And Personal Expenses
If you co-mingle your personal assets with your business assets, you risk going through a variety of legal issues, along with tax complications.
For example, if someone files a lawsuit against you, then your personal assets could be at risk. This is the main problem that sole proprietors go through, as there isn’t always a clear line between the two.
Plus, if you don’t use a separate business account, all the business transactions will be mixed with your personal transactions. It may be difficult to keep track of what payment was business-related and what payment wasn’t.
Many business owners go through audits with the IRS every year, simply because they accidentally mistook several personal expenses for business expenses. On the opposite end, many people saw more losses in their tax returns, because they mistook a business expense for a personal expense.
To prevent these kinds of situations, most legal services recommend that you keep two separate accounts, even if you are a sole proprietor. This way, you can efficiently record your transactions, so that you do not lose time over filing taxes.
Connecting tax software to a second account can also keep track of the nature of the expenses. Bonsai Tax has various accounting and tax features that can help you go through tax season with more ease. In fact, our expense tracker saves freelancers an average of $5,600 every year.
Get Your Federal Tax Refund Fast
Not only have we tried to make it as painless as possible to prepare and file your return, filing electronically will also get your tax refund much faster. After all, its your money. Why wait any longer than necessary to get it back.
At E-file.com, we work to get your federal tax refund as fast as possible thanks to the electronic filing program with the IRS. Filing electronically with the IRS and selecting to have your refund direct deposited to your bank allows you to get your refund as fast as possible.
Integrate Some Accounting Software
Once you obtain separate accounts for your business structure, you may want to integrate some accounting software as well. This way, you will be able to classify your business expenses separately, giving you a better idea of your profits and your due payments. Bonsai has a feature called Bonsai Accounting, for instance, which can help you in this process.
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Keeping Business And Personal Taxes Separate
Created by FindLaw’s team of legal writers and editors
Keeping personal and business taxes separate can be difficult, especially for a sole proprietor or a partner. You generally cannot deduct personal, living, or family expenses. However, sometimes expenses cross the line between personal and business purposes. These expenses may be divided between their components, and the business part of the expense can be deducted if it qualifies as an “ordinary and necessary” business expense.
For example, if a sole proprietor borrows money and uses 60 percent of it for her business and 40 percent of it to remodel her home, 60 percent of the interest on the loan may be deductible as a business expense. Below are some rules of thumb in how to deduct certain expenses which often are incurred both for personal and business purposes.
Where Small Business Taxes Are Headed
The differential between 2018 and 2019 taxes amounts to thousands of dollars in savings, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development tax database. Canadian small businesses pay a rate of 12.9%, which is the lowest of the G7 countries, including the United States.
This overview only hints at the myriad complexities built into the tax code. Products like TurboTax by Intuit make it easier to find appropriate incentives and tax deductions that you can take advantage of.
Once you understand how to navigate the tax code, TurboTax offers a step-by-step method that works faster and more accurately than using the manual pen and paper process.
Likewise, they can provide you with tax experts who can help you find ways to maximize your deductions.
Each of the tax brackets changes the amount you are expected to pay within that bracket, like stratified layers, so a high-income earner pays differing amounts of tax depending on the income between two brackets.
This process is repeated until the taxpaying unit, such as yourself or your business reaches the highest bracket. At that point, anything above the maximum amount is taxed at the same rate on all additional monies the company or individual earns.
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Important Disclosures And Information
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Correctly Classify Your Business
Failing to properly classify your business could result in overpaying taxes, Blake says. Deciding whether to classify your company as either a C Corporation, S Corporation, Limited Liability Partnership, Limited Liability Company, Single Member LLC or Sole Proprietor will have a different effect on your taxes. Its important that small businesses consult with an attorney and accountant to determine how their businesses should be classified.
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How To Avoid A Failure To File Penalty
The best way to avoid a failure to file penalty is to file your return by the due date or request an automatic six-month extension. You can file a tax extension by mailing Form 4868 to the IRS or paying the tax you owe via Direct Pay, the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System or credit or debit card by the April 15 due date. Most of the best tax software platforms can also electronically file an extension on your behalf.
If filing on time isnt an option, file and pay the taxes due as soon as possible. Then look into penalty abatement.
Penalty abatement is the process of removing penalties for taxpayers who made a mistake or faced extenuating circumstances. There are two common reasons the IRS may consider penalty relief.
Llc Tax Filing Requirements For An Llc Corporation
Corporations have different tax filing requirements than either disregarded entities or partnerships. All corporations are required to file a corporate tax return, even if they do not have any income.
If an LLC has elected to be treated as a corporation for tax purposes, it must file a federal income tax return even if the LLC did not engage in any business during the year.
Even if your LLC has no business activity, it is important to understand your LLC tax filing status and whether it is obligated to file a federal income tax return. Filing required returns on time can help your LLC avoid fines and penalties.
About the Author
Jane Haskins is a freelance writer who practiced law for 20 years. Jane has litigated a wide variety of business disputeRead more
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There Are Unique Business Tax Returns To Choose From
While Form 1040 is the standard tax return for most filers for personal income tax purposes, being a business owner opens the door to a host of new and unique business income tax returns. You must choose the appropriate returns to file in order to accurately report your business income to Uncle Sam.
Sole proprietors report their self-employment income directly on Form 1040, as do those with pass-through business structures. C corporation owners file Form 1120, while S corporation owners must submit Form 1120S. Partnerships file an information return known as Form 1065, and nonprofits must do the same using Form 990. Plus, dont forget about estimated tax payments made on Form 1040-ES.
This list also may include tax forms to file payroll taxes, sales and use taxes, and a variety of other state and local tax filings depending on where you do business.
What If You Are Owed A Refund
If youre owed a tax refund, the IRS doesnt charge a penalty for filing your tax return late. However, there are two excellent reasons for filing your return as soon as possible.
- Claiming your refund. File your tax return too late, and you could forfeit your refund. By law, you have three years to file a return and claim your tax refund. That three-year window starts on the original due date of the return. For example, your 2019 tax return was due on July 15, 2020 . If you havent yet filed your return for the 2019 tax year, you have until July 17, 2023, to file and claim a refund. You get two extra days because July 15 falls on a Saturday in 2023, so the deadline shifts to the following business day.
- Starting the clock on the statute of limitations. Generally, the IRS can audit tax returns filed within the past three years. This is known as the statute of limitations. However, there are some exceptions. If the IRS believes youve grossly understated your incomeby 25% or moreit has an additional three years. The clock starts running when you file your return. So, if you filed your 2019 return on July 1, 2022, the IRS has until July 1, 2025, to audit your returnor July 1, 2028, if you grossly underreported your income. As long as you delay filing, that clock never startsso the IRS can choose to audit you five, 10 or 15 years down the road.
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Separate Business From Personal Expenses
If the IRS audits your business and finds personal expenses mixed with business expenses, regardless of whether you reported business expenses correctly, the IRS could start looking at your personal accounts because of commingled money, Blake says. Always get a separate bank account and credit card for your business and run only business expenses through those accounts.
How To File Taxes For An Llc With No Income:
Filing taxes for an LLC with no income depends on the business structure. An LLC that is treated as a partnership by the IRS must file an information return usingForm 1065 even if it has not earned any income.
An LLc that is treated as a corporation by the IRS, must file an income tax return using Form 1120, unless they are exempt under section 501. According to the IRS, Exempt organizations include charities and religious organizations.
If an LLC is treated as a disregarded entity by the IRS, they must still report their lack of income via Schedule C .
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How To File Business Taxes
The way your business has been structured legally determines how and when to file your business taxes. While the process is generally the same across the board, there are different forms to use and different deadlines depending on whether you operate as a sole proprietorship or have another legal structure such as a corporation, partnership or LLC. .
Sole Proprietorships And Single
Some of the most common pass-through entities include sole proprietorships and single-owner LLCs .
The IRS does not consider these business types to be separate tax-paying entities. That means you can simply submit your personal tax return along with any related schedules or documents, showing income that came from your business and was passed on to you personally.
Some businesses may be asked to file information returns, which simply detail your business earnings to the IRS. Youre not subject to any separate taxation on this income information returns simply function to report your income to the IRS in an effort to be thorough. Ask a tax advisor if your business needs to file one of these documents.
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Hire The Right Accountant
Your accountant should offer to do more than just prepare financial statements and do your taxes, says Chandra Bhansali, co-founder and CEO of Accountants World. If thats all they offer to do, then they arent the right accountant for a small business, Bhansali says.
Your accountant should work with you throughout the year to track income and spending, to make sure you dont have a cash flow problem, and to monitor your gross and net profits, Bhansali says. Work with your accountant from day one of opening your business, not just in March and April for tax season. Most small businesses dont understand the importance of accounting for the survival and growth of their businesses, he says.
Choose The Correct Irs Form To File Based On Your Business Structure
- Sole proprietorship: Youll report your business earnings and expenses on a Schedule C attached to your personal tax return.
- LLC: If youre the only member of your LLC, then you would pass through your profits and losses on your personal income tax return on Schedule C, and file that alongside your 1040 tax return. An LLC with at least two members is classified as a partnership for federal income tax purposes, unless it files Form 8832 and elects to be treated as a corporation.
- Corporation: File a separate corporate tax return, which is Form 1120. If you use tax prep software, the program will generate the proper form for you after you answer questions about your business.
- S Corporation: S Corporations are generally treated as extensions of their shareholders for federal tax purposes, passing along income, losses, deductions, and credits to their owners. The S corporation provides a Schedule K-1 to its shareholders, spelling out their portion of the income and deductions for the tax year. The S corporation also has to file a tax return using Form 1120.
- Partnerships: For tax purposes, partnerships are treated very similarly to S corporations. Partnerships must also provide a Schedule K-1 to all partners, detailing their share of the income and deductions for the year. The partnership, itself, would file an informational return to the IRS, which is Form 1065.
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If Youre Late Apply For An Extension
If you expect to miss your filing deadline, donât worry about the IRS throwing the book at you for not filing your taxes. You can always apply for an extension.
While this gives you some extra breathing room for getting your tax preparation complete, itâs important to note that you still have to pay your estimated taxes by the original deadline.
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Preparing Your Tax Return: Self
The self-employment section of your tax return is made up of three parts:
1. Identification
All the general details about your business including the
- Business name and address. If your business doesnt have an official name, you use your own name. Same goes if your business is home-based, use your home address.
- Industry code for your business. The industry code for your business is used by Stats Canada to keep track of how many businesses are in a particular field. Finding your industry code is quite easy. Use the code provided by TurboTax and not the one on the Industry Canada website.
- Information on partners or co-owners, if applicable.
- Fiscal period for your business. Most small business owners use the calendar year as their fiscal year that makes calculation much easier.
2. Business income
Your businesss income is exactly what it seems. Its the income youve earned by selling products, performing a service, and more.
Depending on the type of business you own, other information may be included in this section. Keep in mind that this section is for gross income . Youll factor in all of your costs in the next section.
3. Business expenses
It takes money to make money right? Youve likely shelled out a bit of cash to run your business.
Common Business Expenses include:
- Office supplies
- Vehicle expenses, if you use your vehicle for business
Claiming all of your business-related expenses is especially important for two reasons:
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Keep Your Personal And Business Finances Separate
The real key to managing your business expenses and your personal spending like a true boss is to keep your business finances and personal finances completely separate. Not only is separation helpful if the IRS ever comes knocking for an audit, but it also is great for your sanity.
Get started by opening bank accounts for personal and business use. Next, open a business credit card so that you can keep business transactions off your personal credit card. Avoid making purchases for personal affairs on the business credit card and vice versa. That way, you can scroll back through the business credit card statement and easily make a note of business expenses.
Many credit card companies offer cards specific to businesses, but you dont have to have a card marketed as a business card to keep your spending separate. For example, if you have low overhead as a sole proprietor and arent looking to establish credit for your business yet, you can use a regular credit card for business expenses.
Lets say you are thinking of making a big purchase for your business like a new laptop to use for work. You decide to sign up for Chase Banks Chase Sapphire Reserve card and purchase your new work laptop with it, getting you about halfway to the spending amount needed for the cards generous sign-on bonus.
