You can make the filing process easier on you, and perhaps save a significant amount of money from your accountant's fee if you take the following actions:

Make sure you have all the transactions completed through the year end, including outstanding checks. Your accountant can do a better job on any tax planning with the most up-to-date figures.

Review your employee list (for missing or wrong addresses and social security numbers) and vendors list (for any addresses and tax ID numbers needed to produce 1099s).

Gather invoices on all equipment, furniture, and the assets bought or sold during the year.

Finally, with these three things in order, you may want to schedule a year end tax planning appointment (if you haven’t already done so) with your accountant to discuss how to minimize your tax bill - BEFORE the year is over (i.e. between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve.

The best time to cut taxes is between late November and the year end. By that time, you will probably have a good idea how the year will turn out, but you can still add expenses or delay revenue to cut your tax bill.

Hurricane Katrina has ushered in some new tax breaks for businesses in affected areas. Also, Congress is discussing letting you write off all asset purchases in a single year rather than depreciating them over several years. However, this idea has not yet become law.

Remember, that at the state and local levels, there have been many tax law changes, too, so it is prudent to ask your accountant if any of these affect your situation.

The IRS has reduced its audit efforts due to congressional cutbacks in funding and changes in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights laws. However, don’t let this seemingly easier approach fool you. The IRS is relying more heavily on electronic cross-matching of documents. It has even been suggested on several occasions, that ALL businesses in the USA be required to receive 1099s (not just unincorporated ones).

The IRS not only compares 1099s, W-2s, income tax return line items and other filings against each other for inconsistencies. The IRS also swaps data with state and local departments of taxation, many foreign governments, state unemployment agencies, and other licensing and taxing agencies at all levels. During the past several years the IRS has even tested a program where commercial banks can get limited access to your income tax filings in exchange for the bank reporting to the IRS where you have claimed a higher income than is documented on your tax returns. While both the bank and the IRS win in this new program, you can lose heavily with both.

Make sure all your reporting filings reconcile to each other.

There is now one web-based secure business tax preparation service available - EzBizTax.com - where you can get professional review for tax savings and audit-reducing ideas yet pay steeply discounted prices. Also, please sign up for our FREE Tax Tips newsletter so we can give you monthly tax-reducing ideas.