Dear Dan: Every year I get more frantic about all the different tax forms, deadlines and filings I have to do for my business. What’s a quick and easy place to find deadlines and the other information I need, from a trustworthy source? – Overtaxed
Dear Overtaxed: Contrary to popular belief, the Internal Revenue Service itself – and its Web site in particular – is actually a good place to get what you need. The agency has a special small business/self-employed (SB/SE) Web site that provides easy access to all of the IRS forms and publications that cover tax matters vital to different types of small businesses, as well as the self-employed.
The information at this one-stop resource is well-organized, remarkably light on “gov-speak” and nearly all free. You’ll find:
• An A-to-Z index for business making it easy to find what you need on any tax-related topic.
• A list of small business tax products available from the IRS.
• An online tax education classroom where you can sign up to
• Tax information and answers especially for the self-employed.
• Links to state tax information; just click on your state
• Information on employer identification numbers (EINs), business name changes, retirement plans, and more.
Here are some things to look for:
There’s no better place on the Web for complete and authoritative business tax information than the IRS itself. Reach the small business and self-employed section at www.irs.gov/smallbiz. You can locate and download IRS forms and publications several different ways: 1) By form and instruction number; 2) by publication number; 3) by topical index; or 4) by using a directory list of file names.
For speed and simplicity, view the small business tax publications and form instructions you need online via your web browser, or open them in portable document format (PDF). Reach the publications list directly at www.irs.gov/publications. For instructions on filling out forms, go directly to www.irs.gov/formspubswww.irs.gov/instructions.
If you need hard copies, you can print them out yourself, or order what you need online for mail delivery. Reach the forms and publications page at www.irs.gov/formspubs. You may order up to 10 different products for delivery by U.S. mail. You’ll receive two copies of each form and one copy of any publication.
Or, go paperless with electronic IRS fill-in forms. These are official IRS forms in PDF that let you fill in your information directly to the PDF form. It’s not a spreadsheet, however, so it won’t calculate or verify the information you enter. Get these from the “Fill-In Forms” section on the Forms and Publications page. •
Daniel Kehrer can be reached at editor@business.com.
