Have A Plan

And suddenly it is March. We are about a month and a half into tax season and there is about a month and a half to go. Remember when there was so much time left to get all this stuff done? Well, 50% of it is gone.

Of course, we still understand why people procrastinate getting all this tax stuff done. No one WANTS to do it. And then there is this article about a recent study that says 80% of American small business owners feel some stress at tax time.  But if you had the chance to avoid stress for a time, why wouldn’t you?

Well, let’s talk about some reasons why not.

One of the biggest reasons people put off handling their taxes is a worry that they won’t like the final answer. So again, if you are choosing to put off receiving bad news, we can understand why you would do so. At the same time, however, the sooner you get this news, the more time you have to put together a plan to handle it. You can’t make your tax liabilities go away, but you can give yourself more time to explore options about how to handle them.

Also, if you have these worries, that’s a good tip-off that your records and bookkeeping may not be exactly perfect. Then it is as if this also forces you to face a prior negligence. If that is the case, then the sooner you get a move on it, the better it will be by the time you get to filing your tax return, and the better it is, the better that tax return is going to be. You are not likely going to accidentally discover some more income but you may be able to get some receipts and expenses in order that will end up being deductions.

If these are the types of concerns that keep you from wanting to face your taxes, these can also largely be handled both ahead of time and rather constantly throughout the year. Speaking with a tax professional can help you put a plan together to make a good calculation of your expected tax liabilities and make the proper estimated payments to handle them. Getting a little help with that bookkeeping can also help ensure that you are staying on top of those numbers and making them as accurate as possible. Then come next tax season, a lot of the stress one feels now can fade away.

​Remember, you are only paying taxes because you have made money. This is not a bad thing. Sometimes you just need a plan to make sure you are ready to handle it correctly.

​Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
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