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Yes, you have to file for taxes because IRS requires you to file for it even if your business has made any sales. Moreover, it can be an advantage for your business because you can gain tax credits for all the expenditures while having no revenue. You can claim tax credits in the coming years to reduce your business taxes.

If you carefully record all the business expenses incurred during the year and account for revenue without any mistake in any income statement or balance sheet. You can save only by showing the true picture in accounts.

Yes, you can let the taxation be handled by a CPA who has startup experience. Vcourts can assist you in that matter. We can find a CPA with startup experience to guide you through the taxation process. Taxation is a complex process, and it should be handled by someone who is well equipped with knowledge in this area.

For C Corporations, the business pays the tax at the corporate level, and the shareholders pay taxes on income they receive, so they are taxed twice. The Nonprofit corporations with 501(c)(3) status are exempt from federal income taxes. The S Corporations, LLCs, and sole proprietorship are taxed once on the profits they receive.

Yes, you should file for tax returns as in future business endeavors; you might need your company's past returns. You should portray that your company has been compliant with laws and file for correct returns. So the bottom line is to file for taxation as it will be helpful in future.

There are different forms based on your business structure:
• Schedule C- Tax Form for Sole proprietors.
• Form 1120- Tax form for C-Corporations.
• Form 1120S-Tax form for S-Corporations.
• 1099-MISC- Tax form for Sole Proprietors.
• Form 1065- Tax forms for standard partnerships and multi-member LLCs.
• Form 8832- Tax election form for an eligible entity to elect how it will be classified for federal tax purposes, as a partnership, as a corporation, or an entity not considered as separate from its owner.
• Form 990/Form 990-PF- Tax form for nonprofit organizations filing as public charities or private foundations.

There are certain deadlines for businesses to file for taxes. Here are the deadlines for different businesses:

February 1: This deadline is for employers to file wage and tax statements, Form W-2, W-3, Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous income, Transmittal of Wage and Statements, and Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation with Social security Administration and the respective taxpayers.

March16: This deadline is for limited liability companies, S corporations, and partnerships.

April 15: This deadline is for C corporations, multi-member LLCs, sole proprietorships, and single-member LLCs.

March 16: This deadline is for nonprofit organizations.

You can find your deadline according to your business type

The chances are very low for seed-stage startups to be audited. But it is still suggested to file for taxes and maintain proper records.

Let us assume that you made a legitimate expense. The IRS auditor looks for proof that the expense you made was legitimate and the deductions are valid. If you are missing any expense receipt, then the auditor may ask your CPA to recreate a detailed history of your expenditures. Also, the auditor might remove the expense from your tax return.

The IRS auditors will look into the following things:
• Payments made outside the payroll system or payments made to the executive team.
• The big payments that you have made to contractors.
• Randomly selected transaction receipts.
• Validating accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR).

Yes, even if your startup has lost money and left with nothing but personal savings, you need to pay the taxes. The tax that you would not be subjected to is the Income-tax as you have no income, and income tax is based on profitability. There are various other taxes that you are still subject to which are not connected to revenue.

Your financial records are pull-out first when you are filing for tax returns. So you need to maintain proper accounts as it will become an easy process for you. These are the accounts you must maintain to make the tax filing process easy:
• Profit & Loss statement: It indicates the money you have lost in expenses and how much income you generated.
• Receipts and Invoices: These are the evidence of your business transactions. You should submit all the receipts for business expenses over $75 and every invoice sent out.
• Bank and credit card statements: You should assemble all your bank and credit card statements.
• Payroll Sheets: If you have employees working in your startup, then you have another major expense, which is their salary and wages. So you should maintain payroll sheets. It will also help you with payroll taxes.
There are many other records that you should keep, but these are the most important ones.

R&D Tax Credit is for the startups or small businesses that spend money on research and development in the U.S. Most tech companies are eligible for this tax credit due to the nature of their business:
These are the three eligibility criteria for R&D Tax Credit:
• If your startup is with gross receipts/revenue of less than $5 million for the tax year.
• If you have no Revenue/gross receipt for any tax year before the 5 tax years ending with the current tax year.
• If your startup is not registered as a tax-exempt organization