2018 Year-End Tax Reminders
A good CPA performs your accounting and tax services to your satisfaction. A great CPA does all of that plus advances your business and family’s finances through leadership, strategic partnerships and is a valuable team member. The CPA’s education, responsibilities and accounting approach should align with your firm’s and/or family’s strategic plan.
Auditing, accounting and tax services all require a high level of ethics and your CPA should give you regular reminders of what is up ahead and how you should navigate the deadline or other particulars.
Here are some reminders as we get ready to close out for the 2018 Year-End Tax season:
Year-End Tax Planning
2018 is closing out quickly with us being in the fourth quarter already.
As we approach 2019, it would be a great time to get the help you need to be proactive about organizing and filing your 2018 taxes on time. Here is our blog all about Year-End Tax Planning. Contact a full-service public accounting firm that can help you with this goal.
IRS Forms – W9s and W4s
You will want to make sure that these IRS forms are filled out completely and accurately before the end of the year. It is important to have the correct addresses and social security numbers on the forms.
W-9 Form
Officially called the “Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification” by the IRS and is used in the United States income tax system by a third party who must file an information return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The information on the Form W-9 and the payment made are reported on a Form 1099.
When a business pays an independent contractor $600 or more over the course of a tax year, the business is required to report these payments to the IRS on an information return called form 1099-MISC. Businesses use the name, address and Social Security or tax identification number from form W-9 to complete form 1099-MISC. Here are the W-9 IRS Form and Instructions.
We encourage clients to make sure to have contractors fill out their W-9 prior to the first check issued as this offers a little leverage in ensuring that the W-9 is completed in a timely fashion. Unfortunately, what we see all too often is that business owners forget to get the W-9 filled out and when tax time inevitably rolls around, contractors are unreachable or take a while to get the information back to the owner, resulting in missed Federal deadlines.
If you want more information about 1099s, read our recent blog about the topic.
W-4 Form
“The W-4 is an IRS form you complete to let your employer know how much money to withhold from your paycheck for federal taxes. Accurately completing your W-4 can help you from having a big balance due at tax time. It can also prevent you from overpaying your taxes, putting more money in your pocket during the year. The W-4 is based on the idea of “allowances.” The more allowances you claim, the less money your employer will withhold for taxes. You get one allowance for yourself, one for your spouse and one for each dependent you report on your tax return. Claiming additional allowances can offset tax deductions you anticipate claiming on your tax returns such as itemized deductions as well as for tax ramifications of claiming a particular filing status such as “head of household” or if you’re eligible to claim a tax credit for child care expenses,” explains TurboTax.
W-4’s are important for issuing accurate W-2’s to your employees at year end. You have probably already had your employees fill them out in prior years or if they started this year, at the start of their employment. However, with so many people moving, it is always good to have W-4’s filled out each year or even during the year if they have moved. If you didn’t have people fill them out at the beginning of this year or if you have had employees move, please have them fill out a new W-4. Another very important reason to have your employees fill out a new W-4 is the fact that new tax laws went into place this year and they may want to adjust their withholding allowances to account for that. If you want additional information, read our recent blog on the topic.
Here are the W-4 IRS Form and instructions.
4th Quarter Estimated Tax Payments
Your 4th Quarter Estimated Tax payment for 2018 is due January 15, 2019. It is important that you pay the amount on time because any missed quarterly payment will result in penalties and interest.
“Estimated tax is a method of paying tax on income that is not subject to withholding tax. This can include income from self-employment, business earnings, interest, rent, dividends and other sources. The IRS requires estimated tax to be paid quarterly, typically in 4 equal installments, reports IRS.
Tax Organizers
Our Tax Organizers will be going out in January. Please drop me an email or phone call to let me know if you want one. Tax organizers help clients gather / compile their tax information for their CPA to prepare their taxes. Also, it allows you to ask important questions about your tax situations whether new income or life changes, etc.
Joshua Wilson, CPA, PC is a full-service public accounting firm that specializes in accounting, tax preparation, tax planning, & business development for small businesses in Winder, GA and the surrounding areas. Give Joshua a call today to set up a consultation at 770-856-1309 or email him at josh@joshuawilsoncpa.com.