It's that time of year again. Your end-of-year financial information should be compiled and soon the deadline to file taxes will be here. Are you ready? If not, here are some tips to help you navigate this year's tax season:
Get Help – Taxes are getting more and more complicated every year. Even if you are able to navigate the tax laws to file yourself, it may be worth hiring a professional. With personal and business taxes to file, it's easy to miss deductions that could save you a lot. And if you are audited, your accountant can help.
Use Losses – If your company is like many others, 2010 was a better year than 2009 but still not back to business as usual. However, there is a silver lining. Posting a loss can save you tax money today and you may be able to carry some of it forward to shield next year's income.
Know Your Deductions – If you don't know what to look for, a lot of deductions can be easy to miss. Some, like the home office deduction, are well known. But others, like the new ability for the self-employed to deduct health insurance premiums when calculating self-employment tax is new for 2010 and it could be money lost if you aren't aware of it.
Toffer Grant is PEX's Founder and CEO. He founded PEX in 2006 as a prepaid card solution for small businesses. His background in the prepaid industry began at Clarity Payment Solutions, where he initiated 65 prepaid card programs in consumer, corporate, and emerging verticals of the prepaid card industry.