Need Help With Business Tax Forms? Go Online
 By Lee S. Shaffer

Small-business owners who complete their business tax returns without the help of a tax professional often turn to the IRS for answers to questions.

Those questions may fall on deaf ears this tax season.

When National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson recently released her annual report to Congress, she warned that increased demands on the IRS have eroded the agency’s ability to meet taxpayer service needs.

The report identified the IRS’s declining ability to answer telephone calls as the most serious problem facing taxpayers. Olson noted that for 2010, the IRS has set a target of answering only 71 percent of calls from taxpayers seeking to speak with a customer service representative about account questions.

“In other words, the IRS is planning to be unable to answer about three of every 10 calls it receives,” Olson said, adding that the IRS expects those who get through will have to wait an average of 12 minutes.

“This level of service is unacceptable,” Olson wrote in her report.

No doubt many small-business owners agree. And that’s why more owners who do their own taxes increasingly turn to the Web and online tax preparation software for assistance with their federal tax forms.

Here are a few places you can go for help completing your federal business tax forms and getting answers to your tax questions.

The IRS Web Site
The IRS Web site at www.irs.gov is the starting place for finding information about tax forms and getting instructions for completing tax forms. You can easily search by tax form number.

But most small-business owners need specific information for completing their tax forms. So the IRS created Small Business and Self-Employed Filing Season Central.

At the Web site, you’ll find information about which form you may be required to file, where to send your return and how to pay your business taxes.

The Web site also offers detailed information about:

• Recent tax changes for businesses
• Expenses that might be deductible for your business
• Free e-filing of your taxes
• Tax forms
• IRS publications
• Tax fraud scams that target businesses
• And much more

Online Tax Preparation
Online tax preparation programs take you step by step through completing your business tax forms.

The programs help determine which tax form you need to file for your business. They also help you identify and report:

• Business income
• Business expenses that qualify as tax deductions
• Tax credits that might apply to you
• And more

And here’s some great news. AFS Members receive a 15-percent discount on TurboTax Online!

TurboTax Online is the No. 1 online tax preparation program. It makes filing your taxes quick, easy and affordable.

With TurboTax Online, you prepare your taxes for free and pay only when you’re ready to print or file. There’s no software to install, and you can file electronically. Plus, if you file before April 1, you can take advantage of special “Early Filer” pricing.

Online Tax Answers
As a member of AFS, you have access to answers from the certified public accountants at ProTax.

These CPAs understand the tax issues faced by small-business owners—and they can answer your specific questions at no additional charge.

Through the AFS Web site, ProTax offers complete and confidential answers to your questions within two business days.

(Posted March 2010)

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