Preparing your business to survive the stressful tax season

Even if you've generally settled into a fairly good rhythm with operating your business, it's still stressful to think about the spectre of tax season rolling around. You might have a steady stream of sales and a good amount of revenue to fall back on, but it's still scary to consider how your company's tax burden might affect your finances moving forward.

For this reason, it's always helpful to have a little bit of advice with preparing for tax season. What sort of legwork will you need to put in? What strategies should you employ? How can you get help if you need it? With any luck, this guide should help you navigate 2017's tax season with confidence.

Paying close attention to every little detail

When tax season rolls around, your business has to be extra meticulous to make sure you cover every single detail of record-keeping. According to the Queensland Government business and industry portal, this means compiling all sorts of financial data – receipts for materials you've bought, invoices for sales you've made and so on.

Perhaps most importantly, you need accurate payroll tax data. This process should include going through records of your employees' work and making sure you report the correct hours, wages, benefits, employment statuses and the like. Even a small slip-up now with any of the above could lead to significant regulatory issues later.

Planning effectively to minimise your burden

When it's time to do your company's taxes, there are some creative strategies you can use to minimise your burden this year. The Australian Taxation Office notes that it's perfectly allowable to make changes to the accounts where you store money, or the timing with which you make certain transactions, in order to change the way your income will be taxed.

You might benefit from moving money around among multiple accounts.

There's a fine line, however, between adjusting your tax prep strategies and committing tax avoidance outright. If you're unsure of the difference, it might be wise to speak with a tax accountant who can help explain it.

Getting the guidance you need to survive 2017

Are you, or anyone at your company, feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of tackling the 2017 tax season? If so, you might be better off working with adept chartered accountants than going it alone. At Wilson Porter, we have a team of taxation experts who can help you find the strategies you need to succeed.

Whether you're working on income tax, land tax, payroll tax returns or anything else, we can lend insights that will help. Talk to us today about your tax concerns, and we'll do what we can.