Tax Day Deadline Pushed Back
Good news for procrastinators: the tax day deadline has been pushed back, allowing taxpayers an extra weekend to file their returns. The new 2011 tax deadline is April 18.
For a business owner, one of the biggest challenges is keeping your business and personal taxes separate. As a general rule you cannot deduct your personal, living or family expenses from your business taxes unless it is clear that there is an intersection between the two. Before filing make sure you review the various deductions that are available to you and enjoy your extra weekend for filing.
Expecting over 140 million individual tax returns this year, as a business owner the small amount of extra time may be helpful. Filing taxes can be a tedious process, especially with the recent changes to tax laws passed by Congress in December. More than personal taxes, business tax filings can include: income tax, employment taxes, self employment tax and possibly an excise tax.
The tax day deadline change is the result of a holiday most taxpayers do not celebrate. Washington D.C. holidays carry the same effect as a federal holiday and because the usual tax-filing day falls on Emancipation Day, everyone enjoys a few extra days.
By the way, Emancipation Day marks the occasion when President Lincoln ended slavery in the District of Columbia, according to the Associated Press. Although the majority of Americans may not enjoy the day off like their D.C. counterparts, they will have their own way to celebrate the holiday.
Related Resources:
- IRS Extends Tax Deadline to April 18 (USA Today)
- Federal Business Taxes (FindLaw)
- 8 Useful Tax Deductions for Small Business (FindLaw's Free Enterprise)