Last-minute tax advice for small businesses

With the Wednesday, April 15 tax deadline literally around the corner, there's still time to take advantage of some last-minute tax tips.

If you're really scrambling, you can file for an extension by April 15 and that will give you an additional six months to finish your returns. However, the extension doesn't allow for any additional time to pay your taxes. You still have to pay what you think you owe or face interest and penalties. With many people trying to save as much as possible and many businesses struggling this year, there are a few tips that could be particularly helpful in the days leading up to April 15.

If you own a business, for example, and it posted losses in 2008, you may be able to use those losses to offset some of the taxes you paid on earnings in the past. The rules on this can depend on both the amount you earned and your corporate tax bracket, but in some cases, you could end up with money back. This year's losses can sometimes also be used to offset future earnings, but in many cases, a company would have to lose a significant amount of money to make the effort of trying to claim this money worthwhile.

This year the government is offering a lot of incentives for small businesses to make environmentally friendly improvements and upgrades. The Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy details many of the improvements that are available in each state. Some incentives are applicable to purchases as small as Energy Star appliances, and some states allow these environmental incentives to offset corporate and personal taxes.

No matter how tempting, it is extremely important to claim only the deductions that truly apply to you or your business. Since times are tough, the IRS is likely to be looking closely at returns that seem suspicious. Audits and penalties can be very costly, and informers get a big payout. In some cases, they can receive up to 30 percent of the additional tax collected. Though it's not always crystal-clear, you should be able to find all of the information you need to complete an accurate return at IRS.gov.

--Bridget O'Sullivan