A Comprehensive Guide to Business Taxes

Why can paying taxes be fun? Because they are more fun than going through an audit! And audits can be more fun than having your assets seized for failure to pay taxes!

As Bill Bruns, one of my favorite Harvard Business School professors, would say, “I want to pay more taxes”—meaning you should look at an exorbitant tax bill as a measure of your success.

Unfortunately, as Bill is well aware, while income taxes will be the largest burden on a profitable firm, there are plenty of other taxes that need to be paid even if you aren’t making any money at all: employment taxes, sales taxes, use taxes, real estate taxes, personal property taxes, and minimum corporate franchise taxes.

It might sound a little overwhelming at first, but you can do it and get through it without going crazy. Most federal and state taxing authorities have lots of information on their websites and are available to answer particular questions. Sometimes they are helpful and easy to reach, sometimes less so. But it can get complicated and frustrating very quickly, so find a good accountant and let him or her worry about the nitty-gritty details involved with paying taxes.


About Bob Adams

Bob Adams is a Harvard MBA serial entrepreneur. He has started over a dozen businesses including one that he launched with $1500 and sold for $40 million. He has written 17 books and created 52 online courses for entrepreneurs. Bob also founded BusinessTown, the go-to learning platform for starting and running a business.