Guide to Tax Tools and Calculators for Small Business

Small business tax Web sites

Online tax resources come in two forms: free advice and tax guidance for a fee. Start with the freebies, as many of the tax programs available for purchase simply recreate documents already available as free downloads.

I recommend: For the official word on federal tax obligations, head to the IRS small business and self-employment section, where you'll find handy links to forms, documents and news for companies of any size. Plain-English tax help is also available at CCH's Business Owner's Toolkit tax section.

Find it Fast!

For fast tax answers to specific issues, the Find it Fast tool at the IRS site can help.

I recommend: Start at Find it Fast! Some of the main choices include: Business Types, Closing a business, Contractors, EINs, Employees, Expenses, Industries & Professions, Retirement Plans and Self-Employed.

Calculators you can count on

The Internet if chock full of tax calculators. Unfortunately, most of the free ones are designed for individual, not business, taxpayers.

I recommend: If you're operating a sole proprietorship, TurboTax offers free calculators to determine your self-employment taxes. So does H&R Block. If your business is bigger, to get computation assistance you'll have to pay $60 to $100 for TurboTax for Business software or around $80 for Block's TaxCut for Business. Payroll-Taxes.com offers several calculators to help you and your employees determine the tax costs of income and benefits.

Get W-2, 1099, 941 and other tax forms out fast

Online e-filing solutions can help any small business get 1099 and W2 tax forms out quickly and easily.

I recommend: FileTaxes.com – backed by over 50 years of experience in tax tool development – is used by thousands of small business owners nationwide. It's an easy solution to W-2 and 1099 form filing without the need for software.

Falling back on old-fashioned resources

Online resources are often lifesavers. But when it comes to taxes, sometimes you need a tome you can bookmark and come back to for repeated reference.

I recommend: Three long-time tax experts offer businesses advices on filing and reducing federal tax bills: "Small Business Taxes Made Easy" by California enrolled agent Eva Rosenberg; "Tax Savvy for Small Business: Year-Round Strategies to Save You Money" by Frederick W. Daily; and the annual J.K. Lasser small business tax-filing guide. All are available from online booksellers such as Amazon, Borders or Barnes & Noble.