No one likes tax time, but it certainly pays to be prepared. Having all of your needed forms, schedules and other information in the same place can make the tax prep process go a lot smoother and quicker. This is true whether you will be doing your own small business tax preparation or hiring a CPA or other tax professional to handle this yearly task. Here is a helpful tax preparation checklist for your small business.

General Information:
This should be just common sense. Have your business name and address, ABN/ACN or TFN and any other needed general information available. If you are incorporated, then the certificate of incorporation and lists of all directors and shareholders should be included.

Expense Documentation:
Make sure that all of your receipts and other expense documentation is available. The ATO requires this information to be held for a minimum of seven years. Having your appointment book or day planner with you is also helpful if there are ever any questions. Be sure to focus on expenses related to:

• Meals & entertainment
• Office supplies
• Professional services

Bookkeeping & Financial Statements:
Bring along all of your financial records. This includes journal entries, balance sheet, income statement, and whatever else might also be available. These statements and financial records will be one of the first things asked by your accountant anyway, so be sure to have them handy.

Home Office Deduction Information:
If you work or have an office at home, this can be a very lucrative deduction. In order to substantiate it, include a copy of the your floor plan. This helps to determine the calculation of the percentage of your space which is used for the home office (i.e. office square footage divided by total square footage of the home). This percentage can then be used to offset things like:

• Property taxes
• Rent or mortgage interest
• Repairs and maintenance
• Utilities
• Insurance

Vehicle Deduction Information:
As a small business owner, chances are high you use your own vehicle for business. This probably qualifies you for another tax deduction (but speak to an accountant or CPA to be sure). This means keeping records that track your kilometers driven for business use and other related expenses like:

• Fuel and oil
• Parking and toll charges
• Lease payments
• Repair and maintenance

Payroll Forms:
This is another huge area. If you are using a payroll service, they should be able to supply all the forms and other documentation that is needed for record keeping and tax preparation purposes. If not, you might want to ask your accountant or tax preparer exactly what will be needed in this area to help everything go smoothly.

Conclusion:
Although this checklist will not cover every possibility, it should keep you very nicely prepared to fill out your taxes. If you are using a paid preparer, they will also spend much less time since everything needed will be readily available. Following this checklist just might keep next tax season from becoming too stressful.