It's a Team's Life
Tax Time!
Tax Time!
Business taxes will be due in the next few days. Are you prepared? I have to admit that even after many years of having to prepare business taxes March 15th always catches me by surprise. I think the main reason for this is due to the fact that we want to stay out on the road working once the new year begins. Also, we have to wait for all the documents to arrive that need to be included with the tax return.
Do you know what you need to either pass along to an accountant or have if you prepare your own taxes? Here is a list of the main things you will need:
1. 1099 or W2 form
2. Interest paid on a loan you may have on business equipment
3. Fuel & DEF expenses as well as all other trucking related expenses along with receipts: this can include maintenance expenses, paid parking, and hotel and car rental or Uber/Lyft rides to name a few
4. Total number of miles driven
5. Total number of days out on the road
6. Interest earned on business checking and/or savings accounts
7. Make sure you have a PDF or printed logs for the year. While you do not need to provide them with your tax returns, you might need them if you were to get audited.
This may not be an all inclusive list but it does give you a place to start.
If you do not keep track of your finances, do you have a way to keep track of all of the receipts that you collect throughout the year? There are several good free apps available that turn a picture of a receipt into a PDF file automatically. Another method is to scan receipts from a printer into a computer file. Whatever method you choose to use keep it consistent. If you don’t have a receipt, it is more difficult to justify a large expense when going through an audit. Also, remember that business tax returns along with any supporting documents need to be kept for a minimum of 10 years. This is different from personal returns.
This might be the year that you decide to get more organized with business paperwork. Here are a few things that I do at the end of every year to be prepared for the year ahead:
1. Create a file cabinet drawer or file box with labeled file folders for each month of the new year
2. Create file folders on my laptop for both business and personal matters. Each year has monthly files and each monthly file has files such as: Banking, Bills, Emails, Logs, Loads, Receipts, Statements, Settlements, etc.
3. I also carry a file box with a handle in the truck that includes things like pet information, business paperwork, insurance documents, etc.
Again, this is not an inclusive list. Hopefully, it will give you ideas on how to get and stay organized throughout the year.
Wishing you millions of safe, profitable and ORGANIZED miles!
Kelly Plumb