Taxes, taxes, taxes. Everyone waits to the last minute and gets all their paperwork together. I threw all my info into Turbo Tax and pushed the button… I owe how much? let me go back over this again, again etc… haha. There are professionals that do this, I’m still stubborn and am doing mine this year until I find the right person.
The #1 tip I have heard from accountants in the U.S. is file an extension:
Its free, it lets you get your paperwork together, allows you time to research what you can deduct to get those extra savings.
Talk about taking the stress away, one click and I don’t have to worry about the looming deadline for months, all the way out to October!
All the tax rules that have changed, those items you forgot about. Business lunches, travel expenses, educational expenses, equipment costs for that blog you wanted to start writing, software…
You still have to pay and if you don’t pay by the April deadline the IRS will still penalize you. I have been hearing about these penalties for years. Don’t use your 401k=penalty, Don’t retire early=penalty, Do your taxes on time or Penalty.
What is this dreaded penalty? 0.5% per month plus a 10% penalty on the fee.
What does that mean? If you owe $1,000 you would get charged about $5.50 a month. OMG that is the dreaded penalty! $5, haha. I can invest that money and make 100 times that amount. I can find a receipt from McDonald’s where I talked about stocks with everyone. Another rule I was told never to break, well where do I sign. I’ll take that penalty all day long.
What is another benefit is this day and age? Audits.
The IRS works on a first come first serve basis. What does that mean? As soon as you file taxes, if there is anything out of the ordinary or maybe just randomly, you go on a list for review or a possible audit. There are only so many people to look at all the paperwork that is filed so when you wait a few months guess who’s name goes to the back of the line. If you are waiting till October that line may not be taking anymore people. That is not to say you wont ever get evaluated or audited and it’s definitely not a license to be bad but I’ll take the advantage of lowering my chances by a substantial amount as an added bonus.
So if you just have ’normal’ taxes: no business, standard deductions, no savings, go ahead and file your taxes. But what are you waiting for? Everyone should have a business, the entire tax code is a manual on how a business can save money. The United States was built on small businesses from the founding fathers to all the modern day politicians. I’ll go ahead and file later, in the mean time I will be continue to financially educated myself by going to Mark Kohler’s tax seminar next month where we will learn how to save thousands of dollars.
Did I mention it is tax deductible or it is in Miami, business networking, awesome meals, after party, yacht cruise… life can be hard if you make it that way. This world is a world of abundance, you just have to open your eyes to opportunities presented to you, maybe unlearn some of those lessons or rules you were taught to never break.
This material has been distributed for informational and educational purposes only, and is not intended as investment, legal, accounting, or tax advice. Investing involves risk.
Cash Flow is this Easy 