Income tax tricks from companies? If you need more time to complete all of these tasks, you can request an extension to October 15 for filing your tax return. However, you’ll still have to estimate the amount of tax you owe and pay that amount by the regular April 15 deadline to avoid penalties.17? Note, for 2020, requests for an extension must be received by July 15, and estimated taxes should be paid by then to avoid interest and penalties.

When you earn a high income, you tend to pay a higher percentage of taxes than average earners. There are exceptions, of course, but in general, people who earn more pay more. And, if you’re a high earner, you might think you have no choice — that you must resign yourself to bearing a high tax burden. But is that really the case? The short answer is no. We spend a lot of time talking about tax planning with our clients, including those who have sizable incomes. In fact, one of the most common questions we hear is this: What’s the best way to reduce taxable income?

Timing your income involves moving it from one year to another. You first have to determine the year in which you expect to pay the most in taxes. Review your current expenses before the end of each year and prepay some of those amounts if you want to reduce your income for the current year. You can also increase your expenses and decrease income by making expenditures such as stocking up on supplies. The end of the year is also the time to review your customer accounts if your business operates on the accrual accounting method. First, find those customers who aren’t likely to pay you. You can write off the amounts they owe as “bad debts” and deduct these amounts from your business income to save on taxes. Discover extra info on https://greentree.tax/best-bookkeeping-service-in-houston-texas/.

Flipping Houses as a Business. If you buy and sell property frequently, the IRS could decide that you are in the business of flipping houses and aren’t just an investor. If so, you’ll have to pay self-employment taxes of up to 15.3% on your profits, in addition to income taxes. Buying and Selling Stuff Can Be Taxable Too. If you scout out bargains at flea markets and then sell the furniture and other finds on eBay (or a similar site), you’ll end up paying income taxes on the profits. If you do that just occasionally, you may not have to report the sale on your tax return. However, if you do it frequently, the IRS will consider you to be in a self-employed business since one of the requirements of owning your own business and claiming the income is if you are engaged in the business activity on a regular basis for a profit.