Taxes are one thing in life that is certain and impossible to escape. Even if you do manage to escape paying taxes but sooner or later, government will catch you and you might be burdened with huge penalties or more crucially get imprisoned. But, we all do understand that filing taxes is tiresome and complicated from understanding the forms to doing complex calculations and etc. And above that as a trucker, it might get even more difficult because your obligation is towards the road and less on the forms and if you dedicate your time towards worrying over your income taxes and sorting it out, your work might get hindered. Also during the whole process, confusion is bound to happen, and in that confusion you may forget some small details or records which may be essential for your filing.
In that case, it’s important that you should be prepared beforehand and hence let’s focus on few tips on your income tax filing.
1.) First and foremost, keep details of your records for the entire year. Save all receipts which you incurred as business expenses such as meals, lodging, uniforms, laundry service and union dues. Also keep written records of mileage and gas used in a logbook.
2.) Gather all W-2s and 1099-MISC forms, expense documentation, tax forms, instructions and Internal Revenue Service Publication 17. Enter all expenses on Schedule C to figure the net profit or loss for the tax year. Use the net profit figure on Form 1040 and Schedule SE. There are many IRS approved tax preparers who can help you out on your income taxes.
3.) Use Schedule SE to compute the self-employment tax for income reported on Form 1099-MISC. Enter half of the self-employment tax, as a deduction, on Form 1040 line 27. Enter the total self-employment tax on Form 1040 line 56.
4.) Figure the total tax on page two of Form 1040. Determine if any credits may be claimed on this return and fill out the appropriate forms to calculate credit amounts. Add all credits and taxes paid to figure the total payments. If the total payments are greater than the total tax the taxpayer is entitled to a refund. Total tax that is greater than the total payments will result in a balance due.
5.) Check over the completed return to be sure there are no errors. Sign and date the completed tax return. File the return and all attachments with the IRS no later than April 15 or the due date decided by internal revenue service.
Moreover besides income taxes, the other kind of taxes which every trucker has to pay without fail is heavy vehicle use taxes. Heavy vehicle use taxes are taxes paid on vehicles which weigh 55000 pounds and above and travel 5000 miles and above (7500 miles for agricultural vehicles). If your vehicle travels less than 5000 miles, then still you have to fileform 2290 (Form used to file heavy vehicle use taxes) but under suspended vehicle where you will get schedule1 (HVUT proof of payment) but won’t be required to pay taxes. For that you can either approach IRS or take assistance from IRS certified e file providers such as greentax2290.com who will do your filing in the easiest and most convenient manner with complete security.
Although form 2290 2011-2012 has been delayed and its filing period has been extended to Nov 1 and IRS has not started accepting 2290 forms, but we would still recommend that you file your 2290 returns in advance because this will surely help save your time and make you stress free on your taxes. Once IRS begins accepting 2290 forms, we will forward your 2290 forms and provide your proof of payment. But this will only happen in the beginning of November, so kindly wait till IRS begins accepting your returns and issuing schedule 1.
Thus, all we would like to say is if you’re a business owner, trucker, contractor, fleet owner, then taxes are something which are part of your life and there is no way you can escape them till you are earning. Hence, a good citizen would always ensure to abide by the law and pay his taxes on time, in order to keep penalties away.
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