Why You Need to Hire an Accountant

These days, most people are content to do their taxes via an app, software, or a website. And, while there’s nothing wrong with that, hiring a professional accountant can be very helpful, especially when you have specialized tax needs or need to be on the lookout for tax breaks.

No matter what your situation, at least consider hiring a real accountant come tax time. Doing so will mean a lot of great benefits that you wouldn’t get otherwise.   

Get Your Taxes Done Right

When an accountant handles your taxes, your tax forms are a lot less likely to include mistakes and errors.

Errors on your tax form, even small ones, can make your tax return more susceptible to being audited. Furthermore, errors often mean delays in processing your refund.

So, if you want to avoid problems and get your refund as quickly as possible, filing with the help of a real professional is your best bet.

Save Time

Doing your taxes on your own, even with the help of good software or an online program, can be very time consuming.

You have to gather all of your tax documents together, read through tax laws you don’t understand or that have recently changed, input all the information yourself, and basically just deal with a lot of hassle and frustration.

Working with an experienced accountant, however, is usually much quicker. You just show up, documents in hand, answer a few questions, and then your accountant will handle all the rest for you in no time flat.

Get Expert Advice

When you file your taxes on your own, you have to make all the decisions yourself. Sure, you might get some popup tips from the app or software program that you’re using, but you’re mostly just working from your own knowledge.

And, honestly, no matter how much you research, you’ll never know as much as a professional. A professional tax adviser will give you real advice in an effort to help you pay less in taxes and to have a better financial standing overall.

In all of these ways, professional tax help is the way to go. If you’ve never worked with an accountant before or if it’s been awhile, at least consider this great option when tax time rolls around.

Claiming Business Expenses the Right Way

When you own a business, no matter how big or how small, you are going to incur some expenses along the way. The IRS defines true business expenses as any costs that are “ordinary and necessary” in the operation of the business.   

It is important that you keep track of any and all business expenses you encounter throughout the year. Then, when tax time rolls around, you can look through your expenses, sort out the ones that can be claimed, and save yourself quite a bit of money.

Hiring a good, reliable accountant to sort through your business expense lists can be worthwhile and can make the process go a lot more quickly and easily. Either way, though, it is important that you understand the basics of claiming business expenses and that you know a few tips and shortcuts that can help you along the way.

Tip #1: Document Anything and Everything

First things first, you need to be documenting every single business expense that you incur throughout the year. Documenting doesn’t just mean writing down the expense either; no, it means maintaining some kind of proof of the expense, just in case you ever go through an audit or are asked to back up your claims.

The easiest way to properly document your expenses is by keeping receipts for purchases made. You can do this the old-fashioned way by actually keeping physical receipts and putting them in a filing cabinet or other storage space. Or, you can invest in a cloud-based system that allows you to scan in receipts and keep them on file virtually.

In addition to keeping receipts, don’t forget to maintain logs for business travel if applicable, and make sure your employees are doing the same.

Tip #2: Value Accuracy Above All Else

Another very important thing to keep in mind is to ensure that all of your calculations are completely accurate before you submit your deductions to the IRS. Not doing so can greatly increase the chances that you’ll be audited, which can be a real hassle. Plus, you could miss deadlines and face fines and fees due to inaccurate reporting.

Back deductions up with worksheets when applicable and make sure you are up to date on any changes that the IRS has made for the current tax year, such as being aware of the latest mileage rates.

Your best bet is always to have a professional accountant do the checking for you, but if you’re doing your taxes alone, check and double-check everything!

Tip #3: Don’t Forget to Differentiate

Finally, make sure that all of your business expenses are being categorized appropriately. Not doing so is basically asking for an audit!

Keep true business expenses, as defined and explained above, separate from other things like capital expenses and personal expenses. And, before you just assume something counts as a business expense, double check the tax law or ask your financial adviser.

Filing taxes is stressful, and filing business expenses, though it will pay off in the long run, is too. That’s why you should keep these helpful tips in mind as you go through this arduous but worthwhile process.

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