subject: How To Keep The IRS Off Your Back And Out Of Your Life In 2006 by:Wayne M. Davies [print this page] Sorry to crash your party, but as we bring in the New Year, it's also time to bring in a New Tax Season. As a small business owner or self-employed person, one of the easiest ways to keep Uncle Sam off your back and out of your life is to file your forms, payments and other paperwork on time.
Over the next four months there are several key dates that you dare not forget! Here they are -- all in one place, along with links to the IRS website PDF file for that particular form, where appropriate.
NOTE: This article only addresses federal tax deadlines. Be sure to contact your state's tax department for their due dates.
Also, the calendar is adjusted for Saturdays, Sundays and federal holidays, because if a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, then the due date is moved to the next business day.
If you mail the W-2's, the postmark must be on or before January 31, 2006.
You may also be a recipient of a W-2 (if you work as an employee for someone else), so don't give your employer a hard time unless the W-2 is postmarked, or delivered in person, later than January 31.
Tip: if the independent contractor is a corporation, you usually don't have to issue a 1099. The main purpose of the 1099 is to track payments to Sole Proprietors, i.e. unincorporated self-employed people.
FEBRUARY:
Wednesday, Feb. 15
If you have employees, you must make the federal payroll tax payment for January 2006 by today (assuming you are on the monthly deposit schedule).
Tuesday, February 28
If you prepared any W-2's or 1099's (mentioned above), today is the deadline for sending a copy of those forms to the IRS.
Form 7004 -- if you can't file Form 1120 or 1120S by today, here's a tip: just file Form 7004 by
March 15 and you are granted an automatic, no-questions-asked 6-month extension of time to file the return (i.e. until Sept. 15, 2006) http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f7004.pdf
Form 2553 -- if you want your corporation to be treated like an "S" corporation for the first time, today is the deadline for telling the IRS that you want to be an "S" corp beginning with calendar year 2006. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f2553.pdf
Also, If you have employees, you must make the federal payroll tax payment for February 2006 by today (assuming you are on the monthly deposit schedule).
And if you are a Sole Proprietor, don't forget that you must file several business-related tax forms with your Form 1040. The most commonly used tax forms for the self-employed person include:
Need more time to prepare your personal tax return? Go no further than Form 4868, which grants an automatic no-questions-asked 4-month extension to file the return. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4868.pdf
NOTE: this is only an extension of time to file the return, not an extension to pay any tax due. So if you think you might owe, it may be wise to estimate what you owe and send in a payment with Form 4868; otherwise you may have to pay extra in late payment penalties and interest.
Form 1065
If your business is a Partnership or Limited Liability Company (LLC), today is also your lucky day to file the annual business income tax return -- via Form 1065. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1065.pdf
Wayne M. Davies is author of 3 tax-slashing eBooks for small business owners and the self-employed. For a free copy of Wayne's 25-page report, "How To Instantly Double Your Deductions" visit http://www.YouSaveOnTaxes.com.
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