For business owners in Florida, the financial year's end means handling all business finance operations, from tax and business planning to the organization of paperwork and financial records. Due to a list of urgent responsibilities, it's not uncommon to forget to attend to some of these essential business tasks. For this reason, we've prepared an end-of-year tax checklist to ensure your business maintains its financial health.
If you're a business owner, staying ahead of your business' finance operations means accomplishing the following tasks.
Analyzing your financial reports should be the first concern on your end of year tax checklist. To understand your financial position, you should examine the profit & loss statement, balance sheets, and cash flow statements.
Ideally, you should scrutinize these documents every month. For instance, if you run an S.M.E., you only have three months to file your taxes after the end of the financial year. Remember, your business accountant will require close to three weeks to undertake your organization’s year-end review. It would also be best to have your books in order well in advance to prevent high-interest charges for late filing.
To beat these tax deadlines, you should work with a C.P.A to generate financial reports. Be sure to check for any errors by examining previous years' financial statements. Note that reviewing these business financial statements informs your business decisions, such as expanding your business. Remember to speak with your business accountant before putting money into new projects
Reconciliation is crucial in determining whether your expenses match your financial records. Reconcile and investigate all credit card and bank accounts discrepancies immediately. Don't forget to review any stale-dated checks. Remember, based on the U.S. Uniform Commercial code; it’s not easy to cash a check if you present it after six months. Check bounces for stale checks can immensely impact your financial statements as well as vendor relationships.
Additionally, review your accounts receivable to check your list of unpaid invoices. Follow up with your customers for payment on completed tasks. The same goes for you and your business. Make an effort to pay off your suppliers. Ensure you calculate your turnover ratio to determine whether or not your revenue collection is efficient.
The end of your financial year is the best time to collect all employees, vendors, or independent contractors' forms. You will need to first verify their contact information. Secondly, you must provide the form W-9 to all vendors and independent contractors who received more than 600 USD for work completed. For business employees, make sure you have their I.R.S. form W-4 on file. You will need these forms to create and distribute the IRS 1099 form to these parties to file with the I.R.S. in January.
Meeting all payroll requirements should be part of your end of year tax checklist. Review all employee information and confirm that you've got the correct data, including their contacts and social security number.
Update these records to reflect any new staff hires or those that left. Other documents to verify include deductions, taxes, and benefits. Also, make sure you take into account fringe benefits, sick days, leave or vacation days, and insurance coverage.
Don't forget to check whether your tax rates are per the state and federal laws. Some of the things to look out for include the federal income tax, withholding allowances, and state income tax. Lastly, examine your payroll budget to determine if you require additional staff or funds to keep the business running.
It's essential to meet with your C.P.A to discuss your financial health and review the following.
An experienced C.P.A will offer tax planning and business advisory services to help you start the new financial year with clean books. It becomes much easier to set new goals and strategies with their help because you will have a clear understanding of your financial position.
The end of year tax checklist can be overwhelming for business owners. By seeking counsel from a trusted business advisory services in Clearwater, you'll have more time to focus on other essential business operations. Business Advisory in Clearwater, has expertise in accounting, business tax services, and personal tax planning. To learn more about our services, reach us at 727-530-0036 for a no-cost consultation.
