10 Year-End Tax Moves to Make Next Filing Season Easier (and Less Stressful)

9/29/2026 - By Michael Cole, JD, MSPA & Stacey Craig, CPA

A practical checklist for small business owners to clean up records, avoid penalties, and walk into tax season prepared.

If tax season feels like a fire drill every year, it’s usually not because your business is “messy.” It’s because your information isn’t organized in the way your CPA (and the IRS) needs it. The good news: a few process changes before year-end can reduce back-and-forth, prevent late-file penalties, and help you capture deductions you might otherwise miss. Below are ten high-impact moves you can make now written in plain English.

What to Review Before Tax Season

Audit-Proof Your Digital Trail

Paper receipts fade, get lost, and don’t connect cleanly to what’s in your books. To truly audit-proof your business, you need a digital workflow that anchors every expense to a verifiable image. Start by implementing a cloud document tool like Hubdoc or Dext and integrating it directly with your accounting software. By making it a firm internal rule that "no receipt equals no expense entry," you ensure that your documentation is ironclad before the year ends. This shift not only makes tax preparation significantly faster but also drastically reduces the number of "clarification" emails from your CPA during the height of filing season.

Update Payroll Mapping Before W-2 Season

If new tax codes or specific reporting categories need to be tracked under recent legislation, the best time to fix them is while your payroll cycles are still active, not in the January scramble. Take a moment now to confirm your payroll system is correctly mapping required categories, particularly any new reporting requirements for Box 12 on the W-2. A quick "sanity check" involves running a sample payroll report today to ensure it ties out perfectly to your general ledger. Taking this step now prevents the administrative nightmare of issuing W-2Cs (corrections) later this spring.

Reconcile Digital Asset Activity (Form 1099-DA Readiness)

If your business accepts cryptocurrency, holds digital assets, or utilizes platforms that trigger the new Form 1099-DA reporting, do not wait for the forms to arrive in the mail. Cost basis mismatches between your records and what a broker reports to the IRS are incredibly common and painful to unwind under a tight deadline. Maintain a dedicated sub-ledger using tools like TaxBit or CoinTracker to reconcile transactions monthly. By keeping your wallet activity and platform statements organized now, you can spot and resolve discrepancies before they become red flags on your return.

Do a Fixed-Asset “Look-Back” Before Finalizing Estimates

Fixed assets are one of the most common areas where bookkeeping and tax law drift apart, especially when depreciation rules shift. Before you finalize your Q4 estimated payments, perform a quick review of all equipment, furniture, or vehicle purchases and disposals made in the current year and anticipated capital budgets for next year. Pull a list that includes the purchase date, vendor, and a brief description of the item’s business use. Providing this organized list to your CPA allows them to maximize immediate expensing (like Section 179) and ensures you aren't overpaying, or dangerously underpaying your final tax estimates.

Re-Check Your Entity-Level SALT/PTET Strategy

State tax strategy is never "set it and forget it," particularly as states adjust their rules regarding Pass-Through Entity Tax (PTET) elections. With recent changes to federal SALT caps, the math that made sense last year might not be the most efficient path forward today. Ask your tax advisor for a quick cost-benefit review of your current election before the year ends. Remember that timing is everything: if a state tax payment must be made from the business account to secure a federal deduction, you need to schedule that transfer early enough to ensure it clears by December 31.

Validate Refund and Direct-Deposit Information Now

Significant refund delays are often caused by simple, preventable clerical errors—most notably, an account holder's name not matching the legal name on the tax return. Log into your IRS Business Online Account today to verify that your details are current and that your bank’s routing and account numbers are documented exactly as they appear on your statements. A few minutes spent verifying this information now can save you months of waiting for a "frozen" refund to be manually reviewed and released by the IRS.

Document Multi-State Activity (Nexus) Before You Need It

In an era of remote staff and digital marketplaces, your "tax footprint" likely extends beyond your home state. If you have employees working from different regions or customers in states where you have reached "economic nexus" thresholds, you may have filing responsibilities you aren't yet aware of. Start preparing now by creating a revenue-by-state summary and documenting where your inventory was stored throughout the year. Having this data ready allows for a much smoother conversation with your CPA regarding which state returns are actually required.

Build Real Support for R&D Expenses and Credits

The IRS is placing increased scrutiny on Research and Development (R&D) claims, meaning a "total spend" number is no longer sufficient. If you plan to claim R&D-related benefits, you must be able to tie every dollar to a specific project and technical challenge. Start building a project activity log that links payroll hours and contractor invoices to your initiatives. Saving design documents, test notes, or technical briefs provides the "why" behind the work, transforming a vulnerable deduction into a well-defended tax credit.

Put Your Tax Calendar on Rails

Most "tax season stress" isn't a tax problem; it's a calendar problem. If your books aren't closed until March, there is no realistic path to a clean filing for S-Corps or Partnerships without relying on extensions and paying rush fees. To hit the March 16 and April 15 deadlines with confidence, set an internal "hard close" date for your books. Aim to deliver a clean, reconciled trial balance to your CPA by approximately February 10. This gives your tax team the time they need to find extra savings rather than just racing to meet a filing cutoff.

Shift Fully to Electronic Payments and Verified Digital Records

The days of "the check is in the mail" are over for the IRS and most state agencies. As government offices move away from paper, relying on mailed checks and physical notices exposes your business to unnecessary delays and lost correspondence. Ensure your IRS Business Online Account is fully verified and that you are set up for electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) transactions. Keeping your routing numbers and legal business name in a secure, accessible digital vault ensures that when it's time to pay or receive funds, the process is instantaneous and secure.

Turn Year-End Planning into Year-Round Success

If you do nothing else, pick just two items from this list and complete them this month. Small, consistent process changes, especially around receipts, payroll coding, and your close calendar, tend to create the biggest reduction in tax-season stress. When you’re ready, share your updated reports and questions with your CPA early so you can plan instead of react.

Year-end tax planning doesn't have to wait until filing season. Whether you need help improving your accounting processes, evaluating tax-saving opportunities, or preparing for upcoming filing deadlines, Saltmarsh's tax professionals can help you build a proactive strategy that supports your business goals. Contact our tax team to start planning today and make next tax season more efficient and less stressful.

About the Authors

Michael Cole, MSPA, JD

Michael is a partner with experience across tax, accounting, and advisory services. He began his career in public accounting over 15 years ago, focusing on tax consulting and compliance. His primary areas of experience include providing services related to mergers and acquisitions, 704(b) allocations, and complex transaction structuring for private equity firms and family offices.

Stacey Craig, CPA

Stacey is a partner with experience across tax compliance, planning, and consulting services. Stacey is a trusted tax advisor known for delivering clear, strategic guidance that helps clients make confident financial decisions. With more than two decades of experience in tax compliance, planning, and consulting, she brings deep expertise to partnerships, S corporations, nonprofits, high-net-worth individuals, trusts, and estates.

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