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Important Dates – Tax Returns



• Generally most 2010 individual tax returns are due on the 31st of October 2010 unless you are granted an extension (most Accountants get an extension for their clients till the 15th of May 2011 however it is important that you request this before the 31st of October)
• Group Certificates should already be sent out to employees and the summary report is due on the 15th of August (send directly to the ATO)
• For most Business Activity Statement (BAS) lodgers (quarterly) your BASs are due this year on; June 2010 BAS 28th of July, September 2010 BAS 28th of October, December 2010 BAS 28th of February and the March 2011 BAS is due on the 28th of April. All of our clients get an extra 14 days beyond those given above if lodged by us.
• For annual BAS lodgers your 2010 annual BAS is due at the same time as you tax return.
• For other return types (ie Companies, Partnerships and Trusts) your due date can vary from the 28th of February 2011 through to the 6th of June 2011 depending on your business, lodgment history and your accountant’s lodgment schedule. If in doubt ask your Accountant or get your work in before Christmas to allow time to complete your work.

Remember if you are having trouble meeting these lodgment due dates get in touch with us or your Accountant as we can either help or request an extension of your lodgment due date to keep you out of trouble with the ATO.

Posted on: May 7th, 2011 Author: admin No Comments »
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2008 Taxes Online? It’s Not Too Late!



Most people filed their 2008 taxes online in a the month leading up to the due date. But for a variety of reasons, many taxpayers weren’t able to file 2008 taxes online at that time. Due to the tough economic conditions, many taxpayers didn’t have the money or time to file by April 15th. Usually, owing taxes feels like a major burden. But it doesn’t have to.

Instead of worrying about how you’re going to file your 2008 taxes, you can try to fix the problem instead. There are three basic steps: get the information you need, evaluate your options, and get in touch with the IRS.

The information you need is not just your tax forms (like your W-2 and 1099). It’s also important to know whether or not the IRS is expecting something from you. If you filed for an extension, you’re in luck. The IRS won’t be hassling you over your taxes owed until October 15th. That doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay (in fact, you need to pay an estimated amount in advance).

Even if you haven’t filed for an extension, you can still do your 2008 taxes online. The IRS doesn’t want you to, so they don’t allow you to e-file. But E-filing your taxes isn’t the only way to do them online. Since the IRS requires you to send them a physical piece of paper to file your taxes late, you’ll have to use a different process.

What you can do is simple: do your 2008 taxes online, and then print up the resulting forms and mail them in to the IRS. You get all the benefits of doing your 2008 taxes online, but you don’t have to worry about tripping up on some IRS rules. Of course, it’s a little extra work — a few printed pages, and a stamp.

Of course, doing your 2008 taxes on the Internet doesn’t just mean going to a website and filling out the same forms you’d fill out normally. To get the best value, you should pick a website that’s focused on helping you file your 2008 taxes online. Most good websites will have a tax terms glossary, a filing guide, and live help systems. These features all make it much easier to do your 2008 taxes online. The best feature of a site like this is that you can get the whole thing out of the way quickly. As you file your 2008 taxes online, you’ll find lots of questions that are easy to answer, and for the rest of them, the live help system will get you the answers you need.

Doing your 2008 taxes can be scary, and the IRS does a good job of making it look like you can’t do your 2008 taxes online. Fortunately, it’s much easier than it looks to prepare the filing online, and to get the whole tax problem behind you.

Posted on: September 17th, 2010 Author: admin No Comments »
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Form 4868 – Should You File an Extension For Your Personal Income Tax Return?



April 15 is fast approaching but there’s no way you can get your personal income tax return done by then. What’s a procrastinator to do? File an extension, of course.

But perhaps you are wondering whether this is the best option for you. Read on to find out.

You can automatically extend the April 15 due date to October 15 by filing Form 4868, “Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.” So now you have six more months to file your personal income tax return.

The nice thing about Form 4868 is that simply filing this form grants an automatic, no-questions-asked 6-month extension. You don’t have to have a reason. Just sending this form to the IRS on or before April 15 gets you the extra six months.

But here’s another important point about Form 4868: This 6-month extension is NOT an extension to pay any tax you may owe on the tax return. Form 4868 only grants an extension of time to file the tax return.

So, if you usually get a refund on your personal tax return, you are OK. But, if you think you might have a balance due, or if you are not sure, then you should go ahead and prepare the return to the best of your ability, do the calculations, and see where you stand.

If you are getting a refund, great. If you’re not in a hurry to get the refund, then file the extension form and wait until October 15 to send in the return. But if you have a balance due on the return, then you should send in your balance due with Form 4868. That way you avoid any penalty and interest for late payment of tax.

When October 15 rolls around, you send in the return, showing the Form 4868 payment as a credit. The end result is this: you paid your tax on time (April 15), and you filed your tax return legally late (October 15) because you filed the extension form on time.

Obviously, the key here is whether or not you have a balance due on your return. If you have a balance due, but don’t send in the payment with Form 4868, then you will have penalty and interest charges for paying the tax after April 15.

Bottom line: Do not overlook the fact that Form 4868 does not grant you an extension of time to pay the tax. It only gives you an extension of time to file the return.
Posted on: June 20th, 2010 Author: admin No Comments »
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Tax Records – How Long To Keep Them?



Most tax deadlines are easy to remember like the filing deadline or the due date to pay estimated tax payments however, when it comes to how long to keep tax records, most people do not have a clue. So you want to know, how long to keep tax records?

The easy answer is until the statute of limitations expires for that tax return. Records that should be kept include receipts, canceled checks, and other documents needed to prove to the IRS your filing was legitimate! This is usually three years from the DUE DATE for the tax return or when the return was actually filed with the IRS or two years from the date the tax was actually paid to the IRS, whichever is LATER. This is generally accepted as the time period in which the IRS can question your tax return.

NB: If you do not file your taxes or file a fraudulent or false tax return there is no statue of limitations. This is what trips up a lot of people, when the IRS comes knocking after 5 years and all of the tax records have been discarded after 3 years. You MUST know, it is the IRS that will claim that a tax return was fraudulent or false. Not filing any taxes at all is self explanatory.

Some tax records should be kept indefinitely, like property tax records. These records will be required to prove to the IRS your gain or loss when you sell the property.

Statute of Limitation provisions differ, here are some you should keep in mind:

You should retain documents verifying the value of real estate or stock until you sell them and realize a gain or loss plus the three-year statute of limitations on the tax return filed after that sale with the IRS.

Keep indefinitely copies of your tax returns. Yes, there is the statute of limitations is 3 years but it will not apply if the IRS suspects it was fraud or filed falsely. Keep those tax returns. Something else to consider is that without your knowledge the IRS changes many returns. The original may be necessary if IRS records are magically different from what you filed.

Keep tax records that relate to any claim with the IRS for a tax refund or tax credit that was based on bad debts or losses on worthless securities for at least seven years. You may find you need these in the future.

Net operating loss (NOL) can be carried back 2 years and carried forward 20 years. It is very important for you to keep your tax records until all net operating losses are used to offset taxable income and the carry forward term expires. Add the 3 year statute of limitations on the tax returns filed with the IRS that used the carry forward.

Beware: If it is found by the IRS that you understated your gross income by 25% or more the statute of limitations will be doubled to 6 years. Take this advice, if there is anything EVER questioned on your tax return, keep the return and all supporting documentation indefinitely

Also, in a case where a fraudulent tax return has been filed, or no tax return has been filed with the IRS, the IRS can make this assessment at any time.

Finally: An employer must keep all employment tax records for a minimum of 4 years after the taxes are due the IRS or have been paid, which ever is later.
Posted on: June 1st, 2010 Author: admin No Comments »
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2005 Tax Forms – Reasons You Need Them



Taxes are a part of life and each person needs to pay his or her taxes on time. Every year, an individual has to pay tax to the government on the income earned during the year. Therefore, you will require the correct tax forms for each and every year. Presently, we are in the year 2008, so why would one need a tax form for 2005? There are a good number of reasons for this. You may have missed the payment of taxes for 2005 and if that is the case, you have to rectify the situation as early as possible. No matter what the date is, you will have to get the taxes worked out and sent in.

The first step is to acquire the 2005 tax form. How does one obtain the 2005 tax form? There are two methods of doing this. One is to inquire with the IRS office or the Department of Revenue for your state and obtain the forms from them. The second option is to go online to the websites and print any of the forms that you may require. If you have missed paying the taxes on your income for 2005, you may have to find out from the IRS and even the Department of Revenue, what penalties will be levied for the lapse. You can also find out if the taxes for 2005 can still be sent in or not. Depending on their reply, you can then obtain the forms, work out the taxes, and send them to the concerned department to avoid any more trouble in future.

It is essential to maintain a record of all your tax payments for each year. You can do this by retaining copies of your 2005 tax forms and for all the other years too. This saves a lot of time and energy if your tax payment record is requested for, by the government or any other agency. You can also be prepared in the eventuality that your tax payment may be audited some day by the government.

It is the duty of each individual to complete their taxes and send them to the government every year, within the due date. In the event of missing the deadline for the year, one has to take care of the issue as soon as possible. Taxes are a part of everybody’s life whether they like it or not. It is an issue that cannot be pushed under the rug or done away with. It is a fact one has to deal with every year.
Posted on: September 6th, 2009 Author: admin No Comments »
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