Tax Trap #3 -- IRS Penalties, Interest and Love Letters

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.

JANUARY:

Tuesday, Jan.
18PersonalIf you pay quarterly estimated income tax payments,
it's time to make the fourth-quarter payment for 2004
via Form 1040-ES.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdfBusinessIf you have employees, you must make the federal payroll
tax payment for December 2004 by today (assuming you are
on the monthly deposit schedule).

You use Form 8109 (found in the little yellow coupon
book) or the IRS Electronic Federal Tax Payment System
(EFTPS).

Monday, January 31Business4th quarter and year-end payroll tax returns
are due by January 31 of the following year.

Here's an overview of the 4 most common federal
payroll-related forms due today:
1. Form W-2 (for your employees) http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw2.pdfIf you mail the W-2's, the postmark must be on or before
January 31, 2005.

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.
2. Form 941 (for payroll tax)
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f941.pdf3. Form 940 (for unemployment tax)
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f940.pdf4.
Form 1099-MISC
If you paid any independent contractors at least $600
in 2004, you must send each one a 1099 by January 31.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1099msc.pdfTip: 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:

Tuesday, Feb.
15If you have employees, you must make the federal payroll
tax payment for January 2005 by today (assuming you are
on the monthly deposit schedule).

Monday, February 28If 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 W-3 is sent to the Social Security Administration,
along with Copy A of any Forms W-2 you issued.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw3.pdfForm 1096 is sent to the IRS, along with Copy A of any
Forms 1099-MISC you issued.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1096_04.pdfMARCH:

BusinessTuesday, March 15Today is a big day if your business is a corporation.

Form 1120 -- the annual corporate income tax return
for regular "C" corporations.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1120.pdfForm 1120S -- the annual corporate income tax return
for "S" corporations.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1120s.pdfForm 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, 2005)
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f7004.pdfForm 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 2005.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f2553.pdfAlso, If you have employees, you must make the federal
payroll tax payment for February 2005 by today
(assuming you are on the monthly deposit schedule).

APRIL:

Friday, April 15Ah, yes, the most famous tax deadline of all.

Form 1040http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdfAnd 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:

Schedule C (to report your business income and expenses)
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040sc.pdfSchedule SE (for self-employment tax)
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040sse.pdfForm 4562 (to deduct equipment and other depreciable
property)
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4562.pdfForm 8829 (to deduct a home office)
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8829.pdfNeed 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.pdfNOTE: 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 1065If 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.pdfForm 8736To get an automatic 3-month extension of time to file
Form 1065, file Form 8736 on or before April 15.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8736.pdfAs if April 15 wasn't already painful enough, it's also
the deadline for the first quarter estimated tax payment
for Year 2005:

Personal -- Form 1040-ES.http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdfCorporate -- Form 1120-Whttp://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1120w.pdfAnd if you're an employer, yup, it's time for yet another
monthly federal payroll tax deposit -- for March 2005.

MAY:

Monday, May 2Form 941 is due for the 1st quarter 2005.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f941.pdfForm 940 federal unemployment tax deposit is due today,
if your first quarter liability exceeds $100.

Had enough?

OK, OK. I'll stop here.

That should get you through the first four months of
the year.

For more tax resources, here's a few more links:

Looking for a federal tax form?
http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.htmlLooking for a state tax form?
http://taxes.yahoo.com/stateforms.html
http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/link/forms.htmlIRS Website for Small Business & the Self-Employed
http://www.irs.gov/smallbizWayne M. Davies is author of 3 tax-slashing eBooks for
the self-employed, available separately or as a 3-volume
set, "The Ultimate Small Business Tax Reduction Guide".
http://www.

YouSaveOnTaxes.com/ultimate-guideTo get your free copy of Wayne's 25-page report,
"How To Instantly Double Your Deductions" visit:
http://www.

YouSaveOnTaxes.com

Wayne Davies