It’s tax season. Time to prepare for the deadline. First and foremost, stop for a second and take a deep breath. I don’t want your blood pressure to start rising just by thinking about tax deadlines, especially seeing the year 2020 in writing again.
The tax deadline is April 15, so that feels a little more normal than last year. And with our team at OTB Tax, you know it’s our goal to make this a more relaxing and less taxing experience for you!
So how do you prepare for the tax deadline?
Start by booking a Tax Strategy Session with us. Click here: Book a Tax Strategy Session With OTB Tax Team. It’s important to know that we are here to help you with this year’s return.
But please understand, we are ready to help you prepare for this year. But on the call, we’ll strategize for next year’s return too. Planning for the next year can set you up to gain optimal results on your next tax return and help you map out a plan that will take your business to the next level!
Once you have the call booked, start gathering your documentation. For the Tax Strategy Session, we can look back over three years, so bring those previous tax returns. Have your P&L (profit and loss statement) for the current year, along with any balance sheets as well.
Don’t have all of those things? It’s okay – we can still help you!
Understand, our goal is to help you keep as much of your hard-earned money as possible while taking advantage of deductions legally, morally, and ethically. Before we can prepare your tax return, we will ask questions. You may not have had an accountant ask you as many questions as we will during the Tax Strategy Session, but the more information we can get from you, the better the results on your tax return!
If you have employers, you’ll want to be sure that they have your most current address and email address on file, so you get their forms in a timely manner. I don’t know what it’s like where you are, but the mail seems a bit slower lately, so if you need to make changes, be sure to get on that soon!
Do you know if you are in the right tax structure for your business?
- S-Corporation
- C-Corporation
- Sole Proprietorship
- Partnership
- LLC
Consider taking a look at this video in order to see if you think you are in the right place with your business or if it’s time to move to a different one for tax purposes Tax Structures.
Don’t understand what you just watched? Don’t panic! When you meet with our specialist during the Tax Strategy Session, they can help you sort that out!
How did you keep track of your mileage and your expenses for 2020? Do you need a better way for 2021?
We recommend that our clients use something more than an excel spreadsheet to track everything. We’ve found a lot more money for people who use something like Hurdlr for their bookkeeping. Let me explain here: Why Bookkeeping is Important.
After you have your Tax Strategy Session with a member of our team, we will send an invoice. Once it’s paid, you will meet with your tax preparer. All the magic happens when we prepare your tax return.
The documentation needed to complete your return is as follows:
- W2s
- 1099s
- Mortgage Interest Statements 1098
- Property Tax Docs
- Any other pertinent tax docs (1098T, 1099R, K1s, etc.)
- Dependent daycare letter (if applicable)
- Copy of Driver’s license for Taxpayer and Spouse
- DOB for everyone on the return
- Routing and Account Number for the Direct Deposit
- Health insurance information (if you have Marketplace insurance, we must have your 1095A)
- Should you have rental income and expenses, we need your rental expenses broken out by property, including property taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, HOA fees, management fees, etc.
- Business return is needed if we are not doing your bookkeeping.
- Profit and Loss from Business for 2019- Cash Basis
- Balance Sheet for 2018 and 2019 Year-End – Cash Basis
- Taxbot profit and loss and mileage statement.
- If we are not doing your bookkeeping, we will need a deduction spreadsheet from you.
The more documents you can locate before working with our tax preparer, the better! You definitely don’t want to be scrambling an hour before the next meeting!
Throughout the tax return preparation process, you have access to our messaging system through our Liscio account. We will keep you updated on our triple-check system either through email, text message, or both. That way, you’ll always know where your tax return is during the process of being completed and filed.
Most importantly, we want you to remember that we care about our clients. Having the great honor of working with you to save money is a task that we don’t take lightly. Being prepared ahead of taxes will save you money, time, and sanity!
Here’s to a more relaxing and less taxing life!
