This is an extremely relevant question, and it depends on each case, but usually yes.

The general rule of thumb for a corporation or LLC is that if the entity had any financial activity, it must file a tax return.

Regarding the individual filings, the rule in the United States involves two types of declarations for individuals; tax residents and non-residents. As for the individual tax return, in most cases you will also need to file a return. The US tax law is very complex and in most, there is at least one exemption request.

A Knowledgeable accounting professional will be able analyze each case and suggest the path to proceed.

The tax return of a non-resident has fewer deductions than that of a US resident. For example, a non-resident is not entitled to claim a credit for a dependent, cannot jointly declare, and is not entitled to standard deduction. There are however a few benefits in which a non-resident filer can take advantage of such as “Self-Employed Tax” exemption.

The standard deduction allows the taxpayer to deduct from his income the amount of 12,200 if single and 24,400 if Married filing Jointly, without the need to present any proof of expenditure.

A few option for deductions are;

• Medical and dental expenses
• State and local income,
• Personal property tax
• Mortgage interest on a loan of $ 750,000 or less
• Home Insurance
• Charitable contributions
• Up to $ 2,500 in student loan interest
• $ 250 (for educators who purchase classroom material)
• Child care expenses

These can get to be very detailed and the limits apply. For this, we always recommend that you discuss them with a tax professional.

Children dependents are awarded a cash credit, that is, after determining how much they have to pay and that we use the credit of the children to reduce what you have to pay in taxes.

For example, If you have to pay in taxes a sum of $ 1,000 dollars, and you qualify for a $ 4,000 credit (two children without limits which exist), this would result in a cash refund to the tax payer of $ 3,000.

These credits can get very detailed as limits apply and other regulations apply. We always recommend that you discuss them with a tax professional, as the limitations on who and the total taxable profit play a role in limiting that benefit.

The mostly known filing deadline is April 15th which is the filing deadline for US resident tax residents.  It is followed by the June 15th deadline which is for nonresidents filings. This period can be extended for an additional 6 months.  Please keep in mind that that amounts of tax due are non-extended, only the filing.

For entities, there are three filing dates which are decided based on your entity’s tax structure. March 15 for partnerships and S-corps; April 15 for C-Corps; June 15 for foreign corporation’s operating in the USA.

The tax filer who declares as a US tax resident must also declare the total income earned outside the United States, what we call world income. The opposite is also true. For example, in the case of Brazil, the earnings earned here in the United States need to be reported in the declaration in Brazil, unless he has made the definitive outgoing statement.

The short answer is No, you are not required to hire an accountant to provide bookkeeping services. However, depending on the activities of your entity, we recommend you do in order to fulfill all the required obligations, as penalties for non-compliance can increase quickly.

We recommend bookkeeping services for a few reasons. A special reason would be the ease to access to the results of your company, keeping the bookkeeping in order you will always have the accounting reports where it is shown the profit or loss of your entity. These reports are always requested when bank loans among other financing are applied for.

Another reason why our clients take advantage of the bookkeeping service is because it assists in the fulfillment of all the mandatory requirement and avoids the penalties for not fulfilling deliveries where penalties can increase quickly.

You should send your accountant all bank statements of the Legal Entity, as well as all credit card statements, classifying each expense and income.

A quarterly meeting is also recommended, so external accountants can be updated on any changes that may have occurred in their business and better guide you.

Although not recommended, if it occurs, we can assist in making such adjustments.

Same goes for the use of your personal account or credit card for the business.

You should maintain a contract with your accountant where they will take care of these filings for you. You can simply send these totals to your accountant every month or quarterly and they can proceed with the filings timely and accurately. Once filed, the tax amount will be debited directly from your bank account.

The Sales Tax filing is a great example of where the assistance of an accountant is beneficial and economical. The penalties for not submitting this report are greater than an accountant’s service charge and will also prevent your bank account from being frozen due to non-compliance.