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Small Business Owners Can Protect Themselves From the IRS - Guaranteed
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Dear Overtaxed, Hard-Working Business Owner:
Can an IRS agent actually throw the book at you for a simple BOOKKEEPING
mistake? Well, I'm afraid the answer is YES - even if they catch
just a little decimal point error you did NOT mean to do. There's
no question - IRS audits can be TIME CONSUMING!
But that's NOT the worst part!
They are not only TIME CONSUMING, They are COSTLY. The IRS can levy
on wages, ruin your credit, get your records by force if necessary,
seize assets, and even sell your home. Last but not least they can
throw you in Jail!
REMEMBER THIS IS THE AGENCY THAT SENT AL CAPONE
TO JAIL WHEN NO ONE ELSE COULD!
And you can rest assured no IRS agent is gonna show up on your door
step offering to give you an extra check for the tax refund money
you didn't know how to claim. (But if you owe THEM money now
that's a different story. They'll be on you like white on rice!)
Oh, and just for the record, I was at the IRS annual conference
in Las Vegas, where the head honchos from the IRS said, "THE
SMALL BUSINESS IS OUR LARGEST AUDIT GROUP". Why would the IRS
want to go after you the small man on the block. The IRS believes
their biggest compliance (Deadbeat companies not paying their fair
share) issue is with the small business.
But, how does the IRS know who they are going to pick for an audit?
Do they roll the dice or do they let a monkey throw darts at a list
of names? The IRS computers have a check system named "DIF"
short for Discriminate Function System. The computer system scores
the tax return you file and assigns points according to DIF criteria.
The DIF criteria is as secret as our Nuclear Command Strike
Codes, but we can make educated guesses because it is intended
to make the IRS money.
The 6 Things Most Small Business's
Can do to keep the IRS off their back:
- NOW WHAT THE IRS THINKS ABOUT YOUR INDUSTRY! The IRS has written
Industry Specialization programs which tell their field auditor
how to deal with each specific industry. These read like a stock
offering prospectus. Very dry and tough to understand. (*WARNING:
Small Businesses claiming deductions which are more than the
industry standard might as well waive a flag asking the IRS
to audit them.)
- REPORT INCOME YOU EARN FROM THIRD-PARTY PAYERS! A lot of people
do not keep records on a monthly basis and do not know exactly
how much money they have been paid. You can bet your bottom
dollar the clients who paid you will report that money (if it
is over $600 and they want to take a deduction they are required
to report it to the IRS). If what you report as income and what
they report as being paid does not match go ahead and waive
your "I want an audit flag."
- USE THE RIGHT FORMS! The IRS loves forms. It has hundreds
from which to choose from each year. There are numerous forms
that need to be filed during the year (monthly and quarterly)
and forms that are filed at the end of the year. Even if you
have the right form you must fill it out correctly. Using the
wrong form or filling the form out incorrectly often results
in an audit. Go ahead and waive your flag.
- KEEP IMPECABLE RECORDS OF INCOME AND EXPENSE! One of the biggest
problems for the small business is a lack of good bookkeeping.
Most Small Business owners know how to make the money. They
do not have the time to track all of their income and expenses.
Yes, waive that flag and while you are at it scream at the top
of your voice, "I WANT THE IRS TO AUDIT ME."
- USE ONLY EMPLOYEES, NOT INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS! The IRS has
been fighting small business owners such as yourself for years
over the tax classification of sub-contracted workers. ARE THEY
EMPLOYEES OR ARE THEY INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS? This is a very
important question as you could be making yourself liable for
payroll taxes, penalties, and interest.
- HIRE A PRO!! Using a professional accountant does not, by
itself, reduce your audit selection score, but it can help in
a number of ways. First, the accountant will spot troublesome
deductions or omissions of income that could trigger an audit.
Accountants are also trained in payroll taxes which is another
soft spot for the IRS. They love trust fund penalties and if
they notice problems with the payroll taxes they will dive right
in looking for other areas of NONCOMPLIANCE.
Here's how you can NEVER "Have
To Worry About The IRS Again!!" All you have to do is ...
Choose Us To Professionally Prepare And/Or Electronically File Your
Taxes This Year!
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