Every January, the same thing happens. Business owners realize tax season is here and suddenly everyone is scrambling — looking for receipts from last March, trying to remember who got paid what, digging through email for contractor invoices. It's chaos, and it is almost entirely avoidable.
If you have a bookkeeper, here's exactly what you should be gathering right now to make this process as smooth as possible.
1. All Bank and Credit Card Statements
Your bookkeeper needs access to every account that touched your business in the last year. Business checking, business savings, business credit cards. If you used a personal card for a business expense (let's not make that a habit, but it happens), those statements matter too.
2. Loan Statements and Year-End Balances
Any business loans — SBA, equipment financing, lines of credit — your bookkeeper needs the annual statement showing the total interest paid for the year and the ending balance. Interest is often deductible; the principal paydown is not. We need to account for both correctly.
3. Payroll Records
If you have employees, we need your annual payroll summary, including all wages, withholdings, and employer taxes paid. If you used a payroll service, they should have a year-end report ready to go. W-2s need to be issued by January 31st — do not miss that deadline.
4. Vendor and Contractor Information
Anyone you paid $600 or more in 2025 and $2000 or more in 2026 as an independent contractor in the past year needs a 1099. That means you need their legal name, address, and tax ID number (from a W-9). If you didn't collect W-9s throughout the year, start doing that right now.
5. Asset Purchases
Did you buy equipment, vehicles, computers, or any major assets this year? Your bookkeeper needs receipts and details on anything over a few hundred dollars. These may be depreciable, which can significantly impact your tax liability.
6. Mileage Logs
If you use a personal vehicle for business, you should have been tracking mileage all year. If you have a log, bring it. If you don't — start keeping one this year. The IRS mileage rate is significant, and this is a deduction many business owners miss.
What Your Bookkeeper Will Do With All of This
We'll reconcile the year, make sure every transaction is properly categorized, identify every deduction you're entitled to, and hand your CPA clean, accurate books so their job is fast, your tax return is accurate, and you're not paying a dollar more than you legally owe.
The Real Talk
The business owners who dread tax season are the ones who weren't organized during the year. The ones with good bookkeepers? They literally forget tax season is happening because everything is already done. That's the goal. Let's get you there.
This is the year you stop dreading April.
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