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Ask HN: How to file tax returns in United States

by akshat on 3/11/14, 5:23 PM with 6 comments

Does anyone know, what the simplest procedure is to file tax returns for a US incorporated company. It has income of about 2-3000 USD in the year 2013.

  • by patio11 on 3/11/14, 5:40 PM

    When you say "incorporated company", what type of company is it? This is a consequential difference in the US, as C-corps are treated differently than S-corps and LLCs, which might be pass-through entities.

    If you have a C-corp, and it has US-source income, you need a tax professional, and you will likely spend most of that income on their services. Sorry.

    If you have an LLC, the pain-minimizing steps is to fill out a personal tax return with a Schedule C-EZ attached to it. Write the revenue number on the schedule C-EZ. Normally you'd calculate expenses for the business and subtract them, but understating your expenses is not a crime, so save yourself the hassle and just write 0 for all of them. I'm assuming you're asking this question because you're not physically in the US and this company is your sole US-source income, so when you flow that number to the places the Schedule C and 1040-EZ tell you to put it, you'll find that you have 0 tax due. Sign return, mail in, keep copies of the return and documentation of that income number for 6 years.

    If you don't want to have to read instructions, TaxAct is fairly decent SaaS for uncomplicated returns, and should be able to handle a simple LLC filing. I used it for rather substantially more complicated returns for 7 years prior to getting a real accountant. I think it will run you about $15.

    Depending on where the company is incorporated and how it earns its income, you may have to file state income taxes. You may also have to pay state/local taxes or fees. If any of this is news to you, talk to an accountant.

  • by fsk on 3/11/14, 10:01 PM

    If the business is incorporated (not sure if that applies to C corps or S-corp also), you have to hire a licensed accountant. You can't do it yourself, even if you can fill out the forms correctly. (and you still probably should check the work of whoever you hire)

    That's one advantage of not incorporating until your revenue is greater than a certain amount. If your business is not incorporated, you can do a Schedule C yourself.