201 200
202 201
203 202
204 203
205 204
206 205
207 206
208 207
209 208
210 209
211 210
212 211
213 212
214 213
215 214
216 215
217 216
218 217
219 218
220 219
221 221
222 222
223 223
224 224
225 225
226 226
227 227
228 229
229 230
230 231
231 232
232 233
233 234
234 235
235 236
236 237
237 238
238 239
239 240
240 241
241 242
242 243
243 244
244 245
245 246
246 247
247 248
248 249
249 250
250 251
251 252
252 253
253 254
254 255
255 256
256 257
257 259
258 260
259 261
260 262
261 263
262 264
263 265
264 266
265 267
266 268
267 269
268 270
269 271
270 272
271 273
272 274
273 275
274 276
275 277
276 278
277 279
278 281
279 282
Introduction
Welcome to the third edition of Small Business Taxes For Dummies!
Starting and operating a small business involves many moving parts and issues. Money is the lifeblood of any business. You need money to start a business, and you need money to keep a business going.
As you earn and spend money in your business, taxes permeate just about everything that you do. Taxes are too often maddeningly complicated. But they need not be so. Enter this book! And the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act federal income tax bill, which took effect in 2018, produced many changes that reduced and positively impacted small-business taxes. There have been additional and important tax law changes since, which are included in this latest edition.
I’ve owned and operated numerous small businesses in my life. I love the freedom and opportunity to pursue what I believe in and what interests me. And I generally detest dealing with tax issues. But I also know how important tax issues are in terms of the financial success or lack thereof for a small business.
Handled in the best possible way, you can save yourself tens of thousands — if not hundreds of thousands — of dollars by making informed tax moves. And you can comply with the tax rules and regulations and stay out of trouble with the Internal Revenue Service and your state and local tax authorities.
But if you stick your head in the sand or give in to the complexities of the tax laws, you may end up in trouble both financially and with the law.
About This Book
For most folks, their single biggest “expense” is their tax bill. And for tens of millions of small-business owners, the nation’s tax laws are a complex and constantly changing web ready to trip them up and siphon off their most precious and valuable business resource — their money.
Small Business Taxes For Dummies, 3rd edition, assists both current and aspiring small-business owners with important tax planning issues, filing issues, dealing with IRS audits and notices, getting help, and more.
This book provides you with a crash course on taxes and your small business. Specifically, the goal is to ensure your understanding of the myriad tax rules and incentives so you can legally minimize your tax bill, stay in compliance with the law, and maximize your company’s success. You need not read this book in the order it’s presented. You can use the book as a reference and selectively read material currently relevant and of greatest interest to you.
Here are the biggest changes and updates in this edition:
Impact of COVID-19 and tax breaks associated with it
Expanded discussion of newer retirement account options
Additional discussion of the 20 percent qualified business income deduction
Expanded coverage of issues affecting incorporated small businesses, partnerships, and LLCs
Additional coverage of websites, apps, and other online tax resources
Pending/likely changes coming from new Congress
I’ve written this book so you can efficiently find information and easily understand what you find. And although I’d like to believe that you want to pore over every last word I’ve written, I actually make it easy for you to identify “skippable” material. This information is the stuff that, although