

![]() | Don’t incorporate your business too soon. Most new businesses do not | |
| benefit from incorporation in their early years. There are other options. Incorporation complicates your accounting tasks, requires additional disclosure to the IRS (in the form of expensive corporate tax returns), increases compliance with state requirements, disqualifies business owners from some excellent tax benefits, and costs you money that could be used for more important accounting services that benefit you instead of satisfying government compliance requirements. |
![]() | Take advantage of strategies to lower your tax bill. A good example of | |
| this is a Medical Pre-tax Plan, also known as a Medical Expense Reimbursement Plan (MERP). Generally, medical expenses are not fully deductible on your tax return. If you qualify for a MERP, however, you can deduct 100 percent of medical expenses for you and your family. |
![]() | Keep good accounting records. Taking a shoebox full of receipts to your | |
| accountant at tax time is a sure way to spend much more than necessary for preparation of your tax return and for missing valuable business tax deductions. |
![]() | Know your filing requirements and tax responsibilities. As a business | |
| owner, you need to ensure that you submit and pay taxes when they are due. Business taxes such as sales tax and employment tax require adequate records and accurate calculations to keep you out of trouble with tax agencies. You should especially pay attention to the tax consequences of taking money out of your business. |
![]() | Ten mistakes every business should avoid. Starting a business is an | |
| exciting and challenging endeavor—an endeavor that takes a lot of courage. We’ve outlined a number of tips above that you should take seriously. Click here to learn about mistakes that you should avoid. |

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