According to the IRS tax gap study, 63 percent of income subject to little or no information reporting was misreported. This makes small businesses a prime target for IRS audits. To lower the chances of an audit and prepare to defend a tax return in the event of an IRS audit, small businesses should conduct their own informal audit.
SELF-AUDIT STEP ONE: CHECK THE BANK ACCOUNT
One of the IRS’s first tests in an audit is to analyze the small business’s bank accounts to ensure the bank deposits match total revenue reported on the return. Significant, unexplained deposits would signal possible unreported income to the IRS.
If these amounts are, in fact, income, the small business must report that on the tax return and pay any applicable tax.
NEED HELP WITH IRS BACK TAXES, AUDIT REPRESENTATION OR SMALL BUSINESS TAX PREPARATION?
ADVANCE TAX RELIEF LLC
www.advancetaxrelief.com
BBB A+ RATED
CALL (713)300-3965
But if the deposits are not income, the small business should organize and prepare documentation showing the source of the deposits and why they aren’t income. This could include loans or sales tax collected for state or local governments.
It is also recommended that small-business owners not mix business and personal transactions. To that end, they should have separate checking accounts, credit cards, etc., for business and personal use.
SELF-AUDIT STEP TWO: CHECK DEBIT AND CREDIT CARD PAYMENT RECORDS
The IRS uses Forms 1099-K for debit and credit card payments to identify income that should be reported on business tax returns. If a small business records credit card sales in its accounting system, it should reconcile total credit card sales to Forms 1099-K at the end of the year. Alternatively, the IRS could compare the amounts received from merchant card transactions to its sales by month. Monthly inconsistencies in the proportion of card transactions to sales could trigger a second look.
The IRS also does a trend analysis for many types of businesses, comparing income reported with Form 1099-K from similar businesses. For example, suppose a certain kind of retail business typically reports 40 percent cash income and 60 percent credit card income, and the IRS has these statistics. If a business’s return shows $100,000 of income, $95,000 of which is reflected on the Forms 1099-K, the IRS might suspect that the business is underreporting its cash income.
Discrepancies between a small business’s reported income and the amounts on its Forms 1099-K do not necessarily mean a small business is misreporting income. A discrepancy could result, for example, when Forms 1099-K double report information on Forms 1099-MISC.
In these cases, small businesses should examine any inconsistencies to identify the cause and either resolve it on their tax return or prepare documentation to defend the return against an audit.
SELF-AUDIT STEP THREE: CHECK THOSE DEDUCTIONS AND CREDITS
Small businesses may be eligible for certain deductions and credits that may require additional supporting documentation. A home office, business use of a car, employees’ pay and other operating expenses can add up to significant tax benefits, and all of these items must be well-documented and substantiated.
Small-business owners should not only keep records of their business expenses to support their deductions and credits, but they also should double-check their eligibility for the tax benefit. For example, the home office deduction requires exclusive use of the space for business purposes. If business owners also use a home office for personal reasons, such as using the office as a spare room for guests, they may not claim the home office deduction.
SELF-AUDIT STEP FOUR; GET PROFESSIONAL HELP
Many small-business owners may not have the time or expertise to prepare their own taxes, let alone audit their own return. Getting assistance from a local tax expert who specializes in small business returns can help lower their risk of an audit, which, in turn, can lower their risk of costly penalties.
GET TAX RELIEF HELP TODAY
If you think that you may need help filing your 2018/2019 tax return or past due tax returns, you may want to partner with a reputable tax relief company who can help you get the max refund and reduce your chances for an IRS AUDIT.
Advance Tax Relief is headquartered in Houston, TX. We help many individuals just like you solve a wide variety of IRS and State tax issues, including penalty waivers, wage garnishments, bank levy, tax audit representation, back tax return preparation, small business form 941 tax issues, the IRS Fresh Start Initiative, Offer In Compromise and much more. Our Top Tax Attorneys, Accountants and Tax Experts are standing by ready to help you resolve or settle your IRS back tax problems.
Advance Tax Relief is rated one of the best tax relief companies nationwide.
#TaxDebtHelp #FilingBackTaxesHelp #TaxReliefHouston #BackTaxRelief #TaxAttorneysNearMe #IRSLawyer #TaxReliefFirms #OfferInCompromise #TaxResolution #LocalTaxAttorney #HelpFilingBackTaxes #TaxDebtSettlement #TaxReliefAttorneys #IRSHelp
No comments:
Post a Comment