When do you "file" your taxes?

Jims5543 · 08-13-2006, 08:34 AM

I pay my estimated taxes every April 15th like a good american, but between my ADD, lack of motivation to sit down and do them, and just being busy I usually go to the last extension which I believe is Sept. 15.

My accountant yelled at me Friday to get him my business ledger by Monday so he can file by the 15th of this month.

I am at the office now trying to get everything organized and up to date but feel like telling him to file for one more month. Which will piss him off to no end.

If I ever get my stuff to him to make a April 15th deadline he would have a heart attack.

Do you file on the 15th of do you extend till the cows come home.

BTW- This backfired on me bad in 2004 because I had to deal with 2 hurricanes in Sept. and never filed on time. The IRS was not amused and I am still waiting for the fines. The good news was I overpaid in 2004, the bad news is I do not expect to see a dime of it after the penalties.

You would think I would learn something from all of this.

nota · 08-13-2006, 01:03 PM

if you live in a area declared a natural dissaster area
the IRS may have given extra time to file
your acc should know

Jims5543 · 08-13-2006, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by nota
if you live in a area declared a natural dissaster area
the IRS may have given extra time to file
your acc should know

Good point. In 2004 we were declared a disaster area. Heck, we explained to the IRS agent I lost moy office and I lost some records hence the delay. This was the truth.

Good point Wayne.

I will look into getting some help.

cashflyer · 08-14-2006, 10:18 AM

On time, every time.

legion · 08-14-2006, 11:00 AM

About January 20th.

Of course, I've got my taxes to the point where the fed owes me a couple hundred dollars every year, so I want my money back. Unfortunately pushing my exemptions up one more would place me in territory where I'd owe enough to be forced to file quarterly, so I leave it be.

arcsine · 08-14-2006, 11:56 AM

I am usually filed by mid Feb. Refund check in my bank before April 15th.

Seahawk · 08-14-2006, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts
I've had procrastination issues like these before. The problem is your organization of your initial records. If you're organized (or have someone organize for you), then getting the information to your Accountant is a breeze and a snap, and you can get it done in Feb, not Sept. The key is to getting everything 100% in order all of the time and not letting it slip. Our bookeeper makes sure that everything is up-to-date and ready at a moment's notice, so that when the year ends, we're ready to send the files over to the acct for review, sometime in Feb...

My suggestion - get some help so that you can concentrate on growing / running the business instead of using a calculator...

My wife and I run two LLC's (farm and boarding stable) in addition to our full time jobs.

Since I have an aging strong back and an increasingly weak mind, my wife runs the books and budget while I provide the manual labor.

Her skill is in constant prep...good for the ADD's amoungst us. We use simple software tools that link to our tax prep software...do a little at a time, a couple times a week and the data mountain smooths right out.