Accountant for LLC Alternative Questions owners ask before they hand over the books
Three of them decide whether you need a practice or a single fact.
Which return do we file
The one the election already chose. Taxed as the owner, taxed as a partnership, taxed under an S election, or taxed as a C corporation, and the forms do not match each other. If nobody can find the letter, the first work is finding out, not guessing a form because it sounds familiar.
Last year's return is a clue, not a king. People file the wrong return for years. We read the letter beside the return. When they disagree, the letter is the thing we have to reconcile, not a detail to smooth over.
Do we still file when the tax is zero
Often yes. A partnership still files Form 1065. An S corporation still files Form 1120-S. A disregarded company still reports the activity on the owner's return. A year under every threshold you can name can still owe the form.
Check the form instructions for your year before you rely on a sentence on a website, including this one. Dates and thresholds move. The habit of looking does not.
Payday stays with the company
The company does, or a provider the company already runs. This practice can help set that up and does not process payday. The month still has to show the wages after they happen, or the return and the bank will disagree.
If you have been paying people by personal transfer, say that plainly. It is a setup problem. It is not a confession we need in order to scold you.
A few more that arrive with the company
Can we take money out whenever we want? You can move cash. How the company is taxed decides whether that movement is a draw, a distribution, or a wage. The cash does not care. The return does.
Will this change my personal return? If the company is disregarded or an S election or a partnership, yes, the personal return has to tell the same story. If it is a C corporation, the company return stands more on its own. That is the whole point of naming the letter first.
A room that keeps its history on the walls is a pleasure. Any owner can enjoy a place that does not throw its past away. We ask a company to keep its election letter with that kind of care, because the return follows the letter, not the memory of what someone said in the first year. Send the question in your own words, even if the letter is missing.
Ask it your way
One or two sentences. Not sure is a complete question.
You will be talking to the Steven Palmieri practice.