Business Tax Reporting

The IRS requires business tax reporting for all businesses in the United States.  While different size business and businesses engaged in profit and not-for-profit may have different business tax reporting requirements, it is safe to say that nearly all businesses have some sort of tax reporting requirement.

Business tax reporting requirements range from reporting related to business deductions, sales tax, income, losses, employee withholding and corporate taxes paid.  The are literally countless areas of business tax reporting requirements, so when in doubt, it is best to contact an attorney who specializes in issues related to business taxation.

Business Tax Reporting Violations

While it can often be difficult to navigate the requirements of the IRS, common tax reporting violations are assessed whether or not the taxpayer understood the law.  In other words, when it comes to tax reporting, ignorance of the law is no excuse.  Business tax reporting violations are common in employers who fail to properly withhold taxes for employees. Such a business tax reporting violation can result in the business being penalized with fines and fees assessed by the IRS.

Other common tax reporting violation include:

• failure to properly report and/or classify an employee within your business
• corporate income tax reporting
• self-employment tax reporting
• reporting the use of your home for business purposes
• business expenses and reporting related to losses and gains

Penalties for Improper Tax Reporting

Penalties for improper business tax reporting include a fine assessed by the IRS for failure to properly classify an employee (i.e. an independent contractor versus and employee), and failure to pay the proper taxes on and failure to make the proper withholdings from that employee.  Business Tax Evasion also results from the wrongful deduction of ineligible expenses.  For example, writing of a speeding ticket as a business expense is not legal according to the IRS.  Put simply, no government fines or penalties are ever covered under the business deduction provision. Penalties include paying the value of wrongful deductions or wrongful reporting, as well as interest and fines assessed by the IRS and by local state governments.

Getting Legal Help

In order to properly navigate the IRS tax code to comply with business tax reporting requirements, it is a good idea to seek guidance from a Business Tax Attorney who specializes in business tax law.  The potential fines and penalties that a business may incur as a result of improper business tax reporting is substantial and is far greater than the cost of hiring a professional to assist in the process.  Additionally, there are tax breaks and benefits that tax attorneys can assist with, so in the end, a business owner may actually save money after hiring a qualified tax attorney.