Publication 583 |
2000 Tax Year |
Recordkeeping
This part explains why you must keep records, what kinds of records
you must keep, and how to keep them. It also explains how long you
must keep your records for federal tax purposes. A sample
recordkeeping system is illustrated at the end of this part.
Why Keep Records?
Everyone in business must keep records. Good records will help you
do the following.
Monitor the progress of your business.
You need good records to monitor the progress of your business.
Records can show whether your business is improving, which items are
selling, or what changes you need to make. Good records can increase
the likelihood of business success.
Prepare your financial statements.
You need good records to prepare accurate financial statements.
These include income (profit and loss) statements and balance sheets.
These statements can help you in dealing with your bank or creditors.
- An income statement shows the income and expenses
of the business for a given period of time.
- A balance sheet shows the assets, liabilities,
and your equity in the business on a given date.
Identify source of receipts.
You will receive money or property from many sources. Your records
can identify the source of your receipts. You need this information to
separate business from nonbusiness receipts and taxable from
nontaxable income.
Keep track of deductible expenses.
You may forget expenses when you prepare your tax return unless you
record them when they occur.
Prepare your tax returns.
You need good records to prepare your tax return. These records
must support the income, expenses, and credits you report. Generally,
these are the same records you use to monitor your business and
prepare your financial statements.
Support items reported on tax returns.
You must keep your business records available at all times for
inspection by the IRS. If the IRS examines any of your tax returns,
you may be asked to explain the items reported. A complete set of
records will speed up the examination.
Kinds of Records To Keep
Except in a few cases, the law does not require any special kind of
records. You can choose any recordkeeping system suited to your
business that clearly shows your income.
The business you are in affects the type of records you need to
keep for federal tax purposes. You should set up your recordkeeping
system using an accounting method that clearly shows your income for
your tax year. See Accounting Method, earlier. If you are
in more than one business, you should keep a complete and separate set
of records for each business.
Your recordkeeping system should include a summary of your business
transactions. This summary is ordinarily made in your books (for
example, accounting journals and ledgers). Your books must show your
gross income, as well as your deductions and credits. For most small
businesses, the business checkbook (discussed later) is the main
source for entries in the business books. In addition, you must keep
supporting documents, explained next.
Supporting Documents
Purchases, sales, payroll, and other transactions you have in your
business will generate supporting documents. Supporting documents
include sales slips, paid bills, invoices, receipts, deposit slips,
and canceled checks. These documents contain the information you need
to record in your books.
It is important to keep these documents because they support the
entries in your books and on your tax return. Keep them in an orderly
fashion and in a safe place. For instance, organize them by year and
type of income or expense.
Gross receipts.
Gross receipts are the income you receive from your business. You
should keep supporting documents that show the amounts and sources of
your gross receipts. Documents that show gross receipts include the
following.
- Cash register tapes.
- Bank deposit slips.
- Receipt books.
- Invoices.
- Credit card charge slips.
- Forms 1099-MISC.
Purchases.
Purchases are the items you buy and resell to customers. If you are
a manufacturer or producer, this includes the cost of all raw
materials or parts purchased for manufacture into finished products.
Your supporting documents should show the amount paid and that the
amount was for purchases. Documents for purchases include the
following.
- Canceled checks.
- Cash register tape receipts.
- Credit card sales slips.
- Invoices.
These records will help you determine the value of your
inventory at the end of the year. See Publication 538
for information
on methods for valuing inventory.
Expenses.
Expenses are the costs you incur (other than purchases) to carry on
your business. Your supporting documents should show the amount paid
and that the amount was for a business expense. Documents for expenses
include the following.
- Canceled checks.
- Cash register tapes.
- Account statements.
- Credit card sales slips.
- Invoices.
- Petty cash slips for small cash payments.
A petty cash fund allows you to make small payments without having
to write checks for small amounts. Each time you make a payment from
this fund, you should make out a petty cash slip and attach it to your
receipt as proof of payment.
Travel, transportation, entertainment, and gift expenses.
Special recordkeeping rules apply to these expenses. For more
information, see Publication 463.
Employment taxes.
There are specific employment tax records you must keep. See
Publication 15.
Assets.
Assets are the property, such as machinery and furniture, that you
own and use in your business. You must keep records to verify certain
information about your business assets. You need records to figure the
annual depreciation and the gain or loss when you sell the assets.
Your records should show the following information.
- When and how you acquired the asset.
- Purchase price.
- Cost of any improvements.
- Section 179 deduction taken.
- Deductions taken for depreciation.
- Deductions taken for casualty losses, such as losses
resulting from fires or storms.
- How you used the asset.
- When and how you disposed of the asset.
- Selling price.
- Expenses of sale.
Documents that may show this information include the following.
- Purchase and sales invoices.
- Real estate closing statements.
- Canceled checks.
What if I don't have a canceled check?
If you do not have a canceled check, you may be able to prove
payment with certain financial account statements prepared by
financial institutions. These include account statements prepared for
the financial institution by a third party. These account statements
must be highly legible. The following is a list of acceptable account
statements.
IF payment is by... |
THEN the statement must show the... |
Check |
- Check number
- Amount
- Payee's name
- Date the check amount was posted to the account by the
financial institution
|
Electronic funds transfer |
- Amount transferred
- Payee's name
- Date the transfer was posted to the account by the financial
institution
|
Credit card |
- Amount charged
- Payee's name
- Transaction date
|
Proof of payment of an amount, by itself, does not establish that
you are entitled to a tax deduction. You should also keep other
documents, such as credit card sales slips and invoices, discussed
previously.
Recording Business Transactions
A good recordkeeping system includes a summary of your business
transactions. (Your business transactions are shown on the supporting
documents just discussed.) Business transactions are ordinarily
summarized in books called journals and ledgers. You can buy them at
your local stationery or office supply store.
A journal is a book where you record each business
transaction shown on your supporting documents. You may have to keep
separate journals for transactions that occur frequently.
A ledger is a book that contains the totals from all of
your journals. It is organized into different accounts.
Whether you keep journals and ledgers and how you keep them depends
on the type of business you are in. For example, a recordkeeping
system for a small business might include the following items.
- Business checkbook.
- Daily summary of cash receipts.
- Monthly summary of cash receipts.
- Check disbursements journal.
- Depreciation worksheet.
- Employee compensation record.
The business checkbook is explained next. The other items are
illustrated later under Sample Record System.
Whichever system you use to record business transactions will be
most effective if you follow good recordkeeping practices. For
example, record expenses when they occur, and identify the source of
recorded receipts. Generally, it is best to record transactions on a
daily basis.
Business checkbook.
One of the first things you should do when you start a business is
open a business checking account. You should keep your business
account separate from your personal checking account.
The business checkbook is your basic source of information for
recording your business expenses. You should deposit all daily
receipts in your business checking account. You should check your
account for errors by reconciling it. See Reconciling the
checking account, later.
Consider using a checkbook that allows enough space to identify the
source of deposits as business income, personal funds, or loans. You
should also note on the deposit slip the source of the deposit and
keep copies of all slips.
You should make all payments by check to document business
expenses. Write checks payable to yourself only when making
withdrawals from your business for personal use. Avoid writing checks
payable to cash. If you must write a check for cash to pay a business
expense, include the receipt for the cash payment in your records. If
you cannot get a receipt for a cash payment, you should make an
adequate explanation in your records at the time of payment.
Use the business account for business purposes only. Indicate the
source of deposits and the type of expense in the checkbook.
Reconciling the checking account.
When you receive your bank statement, make sure the statement, your
checkbook, and your books agree. The statement balance may not agree
with the balance in your checkbook and books if the statement:
- Includes bank charges that you did not enter in your books
and subtract from your checkbook balance, or
- Does not include deposits made after the statement date or
checks that did not clear your account before the statement
date.
By reconciling your checking account, you will:
- Verify how much money you have in the account,
- Make sure that your checkbook and books reflect all bank
charges and the correct balance in the checking account, and
- Correct any errors in your bank statement, checkbook, and
books.
You should reconcile your checking account each month.
Before you start to reconcile your monthly bank statement, check
your own figures. Begin with the balance shown in your checkbook at
the end of the previous month. To this balance, add the total cash
deposited during the month and subtract the total cash disbursements.
After checking your figures, the result should agree with your
checkbook balance at the end of the month. If the result does not
agree, you may have made an error in recording a check or deposit. You
can find the error by doing the following.
- Adding the amounts on your check stubs and comparing that
total with the total in the "amount of check" column in your
check disbursements journal. If the totals do not agree, check the
individual amounts to see if an error was made in your check stub
record or in the related entry in your check disbursements
journal.
- Adding the deposit amounts in your checkbook. Compare that
total with the monthly total in your cash receipt book, if you have
one. If the totals do not agree, check the individual amounts to find
any errors.
If your checkbook and journal entries still disagree, then refigure
the running balance in your checkbook to make sure additions and
subtractions are correct.
When your checkbook balance agrees with the balance figured from
the journal entries, you may begin reconciling your checkbook with the
bank statement. Many banks print a reconciliation worksheet on the
back of the statement.
To reconcile your account, follow these steps.
- Compare the deposits listed on the bank statement with the
deposits shown in your checkbook. Note all differences in the dollar
amounts.
- Compare each canceled check, including both check number and
dollar amount, with the entry in your checkbook. Note all differences
in the dollar amounts. Mark the check number in the checkbook as
having cleared the bank. After accounting for all checks returned by
the bank, those not marked in your checkbook are your outstanding
checks.
- Prepare a bank reconciliation. One is illustrated later
under Sample Record System.
- Update your checkbook and journals for items shown on the
reconciliation as not recorded (such as service charges) or recorded
incorrectly.
At this point, the adjusted bank statement balance should equal
your adjusted checkbook balance. If you still have differences, check
the previous steps to find errors.
Table 3. Period of Limitations
Bookkeeping System
You must decide whether to use a single- or a double-entry
bookkeeping system. The single-entry system of bookkeeping is the
simplest to maintain, but it may not be suitable for everyone. You may
find the double-entry system better because it has built-in checks and
balances to assure accuracy and control.
Single-entry.
A single-entry system is based on the income statement (profit or
loss statement). It can be a simple and practical system if you are
starting a small business. The system records the flow of income and
expenses through the use of:
- A daily summary of cash receipts, and
- Monthly summaries of cash receipts and disbursements.
Double-entry.
A double-entry bookkeeping system uses journals and ledgers.
Transactions are first entered in a journal and then posted to ledger
accounts. These accounts show income, expenses, assets (property a
business owns), liabilities (debts of a business), and net worth
(excess of assets over liabilities). You close income and expense
accounts at the end of each tax year. You keep asset, liability, and
net worth accounts open on a permanent basis.
In the double-entry system, each account has a left side for debits
and a right side for credits. It is self-balancing because you record
every transaction as a debit entry in one account and as a credit
entry in another.
Under this system, the total debits must equal the total credits
after you post the journal entries to the ledger accounts. If the
amounts do not balance, you have made an error and you must find and
correct it.
An example of a journal entry showing a payment of rent in October
is shown next.
General Journal
Computerized System
There are computer software packages that you can use for
recordkeeping. They can be purchased in many retail stores. These
packages are very useful and relatively easy to use; they require very
little knowledge of bookkeeping and accounting.
If you use a computerized system, you must be able to produce
sufficient legible records to support and verify entries made on your
return and determine your correct tax liability. To meet this
qualification, the machine-sensible records must reconcile with your
books and return. These records must provide enough detail to identify
the underlying source documents.
You must also keep all machine-sensible records and a complete
description of the computerized portion of your recordkeeping system.
This documentation must be sufficiently detailed to show all of the
following items.
- Functions being performed as the data flows through the
system.
- Controls used to ensure accurate and reliable
processing.
- Controls used to prevent the unauthorized addition,
alteration, or deletion of retained records.
- Charts of accounts and detailed account descriptions.
See Revenue Procedure 98-25 in Cumulative Bulletin
1998-1 for more information.
Microfilm
Microfilm and microfiche reproductions of general books of
accounts, such as cash books, journals, voucher registers, and
ledgers, are accepted for recordkeeping purposes if they comply with
Revenue Procedure 81-46. Revenue Procedure 81-46 is in
Cumulative Bulletin 1981-2.
Electronic Storage System
Records maintained in an electronic storage system are accepted for
recordkeeping purposes if the system complies with Revenue Procedure
97-22. Revenue Procedure 97-22 is in Cumulative Bulletin
1997-1.
An electronic storage system is one that either images hardcopy
(paper) books and records or transfers computerized books and records
to an electronic storage media, such as an optical disk.
How Long To Keep Records
You must keep your records as long as they may be needed for the
administration of any provision of the Internal Revenue Code.
Generally, this means you must keep records that support an item of
income or deduction on a return until the period of limitations for
that return runs out.
The period of limitations is the period of time in which you can
amend your return to claim a credit or refund, or the IRS can assess
additional tax. Table 3, below, contains the periods of
limitations that apply to income tax returns. Unless otherwise stated,
the years refer to the period after the return was filed. Returns
filed before the due date are treated as filed on the due date.
Keep copies of your filed tax returns. They help in preparing
future tax returns and making computations if you later file an
amended return.
Employment taxes.
If you have employees, you must keep all employment tax records for
at least 4 years after the date the tax becomes due or is paid,
whichever is later.
Assets.
Keep records relating to property until the period of limitations
expires for the year in which you dispose of the property in a taxable
disposition. You must keep these records to figure any depreciation,
amortization, or depletion deduction, and to figure your basis for
computing gain or loss when you sell or otherwise dispose of the
property.
Generally, if you received property in a nontaxable exchange, your
basis in that property is the same as the basis of the property you
gave up, increased by money you paid. You must keep the records on the
old property, as well as on the new property, until the period of
limitations expires for the year in which you dispose of the new
property in a taxable disposition.
Records for nontax purposes.
When your records are no longer needed for tax purposes, do not
discard them until you check to see if you have to keep them longer
for other purposes. For example, your insurance company or creditors
may require you to keep them longer than the IRS does.
Sample Record System
This example illustrates a single-entry system used by Henry M.
Brown, who is the sole proprietor of a small automobile body shop.
Henry uses part-time help, has no inventory of items held for sale,
and uses the cash method of accounting.
These sample records should not be viewed as a
recommendation of how to keep your records. They are intended to show
how one business keeps its records.
1. Daily Summary of Cash Receipts
(Page 18)
This summary is a record of cash sales for the day. It accounts for
cash at the end of the day over the amount in the Change and Petty
Cash Fund at the beginning of the day.
Henry takes the cash sales entry from his cash register tape. If he
had no cash register, he would simply total his cash sale slips and
any other cash received that day.
He carries the total receipts shown in this summary for January 3
($267.80), including cash sales ($263.60) and sales tax ($4.20), to
the Monthly Summary of Cash Receipts.
Petty cash fund.
Henry uses a petty cash fund to make small payments without having
to write checks for small amounts. Each time he makes a payment from
this fund, he makes out a petty cash slip and attaches it to his
receipt as proof of payment. He sets up a fixed amount ($50) in his
petty cash fund. The total of the unspent petty cash and the amounts
on the petty cash slips should equal the fixed amount of the fund.
When the totals on the petty cash slips approach the fixed amount, he
brings the cash in the fund back to the fixed amount by writing a
check to "Petty Cash" for the total of the outstanding slips.
(See the Check Disbursements Journal entry for check number
92.) This restores the fund to its fixed amount of $50. He then
summarizes the slips and enters them in the proper columns in the
monthly check disbursements journal.
2. Monthly Summary of Cash Receipts (Page 19)
This shows the income activity for the month. Henry carries the
total monthly net sales shown in this summary for January ($4,865.05)
to his Annual Summary.
To figure total monthly net sales, Henry reduces the total monthly
receipts by the sales tax imposed on his customers and turned over to
the state. He cannot take a deduction for sales tax turned over to the
state because he only collected the tax. He does not include the tax
in his income.
3. Check Disbursements Journal (Page 20)
Henry enters checks drawn on the business checking account in the
Check Disbursements Journal each day. All checks are
prenumbered and each check number is listed and accounted for in the
column provided in the journal.
Frequent expenses have their own headings across the sheet. He
enters in a separate column expenses that require comparatively
numerous or large payments each month, such as materials, gross
payroll, and rent. Under the General Accounts column, he
enters small expenses that normally have only one or two monthly
payments, such as licenses and postage.
Henry does not pay personal or nonbusiness expenses by checks drawn
on the business account. If he did, he would record them in the
journal, even though he could not deduct them as business expenses.
Henry carries the January total of expenses for materials
($1,083.50) to the Annual Summary. Similarly, he enters
monthly total of expenses for telephone, truck, auto, etc., in the
appropriate columns of that summary.
4. Employee Compensation Record
(Page 22)
This record shows the following information.
- The number of hours Henry's employee worked in a pay
period.
- The employee's total pay for the period.
- The deductions Henry withheld in figuring the employee's net
pay.
- The monthly gross payroll.
Henry carries the January gross payroll ($520) to the
Annual Summary.
5. Annual Summary (Page 22)
This annual summary of monthly cash receipts and expense totals
provides the final amounts to enter on Henry's tax return. He figures
the cash receipts total from the total of monthly cash receipts shown
in the Monthly Summary of Cash Receipts. He figures the
expense totals from the totals of monthly expense items shown in the
Check Disbursements Journal. As in the journal, he keeps
each major expense in a separate column.
Henry carries the cash receipts total shown in the annual summary
($47,440.95) to Part I of Schedule C (not illustrated). He carries the
total for materials ($10,001.00) to Part II of Schedule C.
A business that keeps materials and supplies on hand generally must
complete the inventory lines in Part III of Schedule C. However, there
are no inventories of materials and supplies in this example. Henry
buys parts and supplies on a per-job basis; he does not keep them on
hand.
Henry enters annual totals for interest, rent, taxes, and wages on
the appropriate lines in Part II of Schedule C. The total for taxes
and licenses includes the employer's share of social security and
Medicare taxes, and the business license fee. He enters the total of
other annual business expenses on the "Other expenses" line of
Schedule C.
6. Depreciation Worksheet (Page 22)
This worksheet shows the information used in figuring the
depreciation allowed on assets used in Henry's business. Henry figures
the depreciation using the modified accelerated cost recovery system
(MACRS). He also chooses to deduct $18,000 of the cost of certain
depreciable property purchased and placed in service in his trade or
business during the year. This is the "section 179 deduction."
Depreciation and the section 179 deduction are discussed in
Publication 946.
Henry uses the information in the worksheet to
complete Form 4562, Depreciation and Amortization (not
illustrated).
Henry must take depreciation in the year it is allowable. He cannot
deduct in the current year the allowable depreciation he did not take
in a prior year. If he does not deduct the correct depreciation, he
may be able to make a correction by filing Form 1040X, Amended
U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, or by changing his accounting
method. For more information on how to correct an incorrect
depreciation deduction, see chapter 1 in Publication 946.
7. Bank Reconciliation (Page 23)
Henry reconciles his checkbook with his bank statement and prepares
a bank reconciliation for January as follows.
- Henry begins by entering his bank statement balance.
- Henry compares the deposits listed on the bank statement
with deposits shown in his checkbook. Two deposits shown in his
checkbook--$701.33 and $516.08--were not on his bank
statement. He enters these two amounts on the bank reconciliation. He
adds them to the bank statement balance of $1,458.12 to arrive at a
subtotal of $2,675.53.
- After comparing each canceled check with his checkbook,
Henry found four outstanding checks totaling $526.50. He subtracts
this amount from the subtotal in (2), above. The result of $2,149.03
is the adjusted bank statement balance.
- Henry enters his checkbook balance on the bank
reconciliation.
- Henry discovered that he mistakenly entered a deposit of
$600.40 in his checkbook as $594.40. He adds the difference ($6.00) to
the checkbook balance of $2,153.03. There was a $10.00 bank service
charge on his bank statement that he subtracts from the checkbook
balance. The result is the adjusted checkbook balance of $2,149.03.
This equals his adjusted bank statement balance computed in (3),
earlier.
The only book adjustment Henry needs to make is to the Check
Disbursements Journal for the $10 bank service charge. He does
not need to adjust the Monthly Summary of Cash Receipts
because he correctly entered the January 8 deposit of $600.40 in
that record.
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