-Hello.

Are you looking for small-business resources from the Internal Revenue Service? Then you´re in the right place.

Welcome.

Today we´re going to talk about the small-business resources that you can find on IRS.gov.

We have so many helpful resources for small businesses, and we´re going to discuss these with you today. Those topics will include IRS Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center, Employer Identification Number, online learning and educational products, the IRS tax calendar, small-business presentations on IRS Video Portal, small-business tax workshop, e-News for Small Businesses, small-business tax tips on Twitter and YouTube and IRS small business publication. Now you don´t have to be a tax expert when you´re running a business, but you need to know the basics so your business can run smoothly. The Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center, seen here on the screen, has several links to useful information for you as a business owner, and what will you find here? I´m so glad you asked.

You´re going to find resources for taxpayers just like you who file Form 1040 or 1040-SR. Now that´s for our seniors ages 65 and older. You´re going to find information on Schedule C, E, F or Form 2106 as well as small businesses with assets under $10 million. Yep, you are going to find some great information here for you, and guess what?

This information is available in multiple languages like Spanish, simplified and traditional Chinese, Korean, Russian, Vietnamese and Haitian Creole, so what else will you find information for? Well, you´re going to find information for those who are self-employed, for those independent contractors or employees, business structures. We got a lot of questions about that, businesses with employees and various industries and professions. You´ll also find information for preparing your taxes like business tax credit.

You need to know that.

Deducting expenses, record-keeping, which is so vital in the longevity of your business and employment taxes, and when it comes to filing and paying taxes, that´s right. You´ll find information here on filing and paying your business taxes. You´re going to have a tax calendar for you. You´ll be able to learn how to file tax, do tax returns. You´ll see information on information return reporting. You´ll learn how to calculate your employment taxes and more, stages of owning a business.

That´s right.

You´ll learn how to start a business, operate a business and close a business. You´ll also get information on changing your address or changing your business name, and I can´t forget to mention that there are several general topics, for example, information for you from A to Z for your business and then Affordable Care Act information and the all-important employer credit for paid family and medical leave. Yep, credits that you as a business owner may be able to take advantage of, and of course I can´t leave out the gig economy. We used to call that the sharing economy. What else are you going to see here? Online learning opportunities, that´s right. We´ve got a wonderful IRS video portal, and it´s one of the best educational tools the IRS has made available to you for free. You´re going to also have access to small-business events. Have you attended any of our webinars for businesses? Did you know we hold these events, again, for free? Well, hopefully you´ll be able to find and join us for some of these events. We also have other online tools and educational products. There are a variety of products to help you learn about business taxes on your own time and at your own pace.

The great thing is, this information is available 24-7 every day of the week to fit in with your business schedule. The online schools like the Small business Tax Workshop is a great tool, and we´ll see more about that in a moment. Have you ever subscribed to e-news for IRS for your small business?

We´ll talk about that as well.

As you can see, there´s a wealth of information on the Small Business Self-Employed Tax Center page. Now we´re going to just highlight a few of these resources in detail.

The tax center has the most popular links including the employer identification number. I bet you´ve got questions about that. You´re going to find information about the forms and pub, self-employment taxes and how to electronically file your taxes. Now I mentioned the Employer ID Number or EIN, as we sometimes call it.

Again, this is one of our most popular links on the Small Business Self-Employed Tax Center. Let´s talk more about that next.

What is an EIN?

How do I get an EIN?

More importantly, do I really need one? I´m so glad you asked all of these questions, and you´re not alone.

An Employer Identification Number or EIN is also known as a Federal Tax Identification Number, and it´s used to identify a business entity. Generally businesses need an EIN. You may apply for an EIN in various ways, including applying online.

This too is a free service offered by the Internal Revenue Service, and you can get your EIN immediately. Just a little side-note here: When applying for an EIN, be aware of those sites who want to sell you an EIN. Remember, getting an EIN is free. Be sure to use the link found on our Small Business Self-Employed Tax Center or simply go to our website at IRS.gov and type in the keyword Employer Identification Number or EIN. By the way, do a quick check with your state to determine whether or not you need a state number or charter. How simple is it to get a free Employer Identification Number from the IRS? Simply check out our interview-style online EIN application.

In the past, we used the Form SS-4 to mail it in. Well, there´s no need to file a Form SS-4 through the mail anymore.

We ask you all the questions, and we give you all the answers when you go through our online application. The application includes embedded help topics and hyperlinked keywords and definitions so separate instructions aren´t even necessary. After all validations are done, you will get your EIN immediately upon completion. You can then download, save and print your confirmation notice. It´s fast, free and user-friendly. All EIN applications, whether it´s by mail, fax or electronic, must disclose the name and Taxpayer Identified Number like the Social Security number for the true principal officer, general partner or owner.

This individual or entity, which the IRS will call the responsible party, controls, manages or directs the applicant entity and the disposition of his funds and assets. Unless the applicant is a government entity, the responsible party must be an individual, not an entity. Are you thinking of filing for a tax-exempt status? Well, it´s best to be sure your organization is formed legally before you apply for an EIN. Nearly all organizations are subject to automatic revocation of their tax-exempt status if they fail to file a required return or notice for 3 consecutive years, so when you apply for an EIN, we already presume you´re legally formed, and the clock starts running on this 3-year period. Has there been a change of ownership or change of structure?

Well, generally businesses need a new EIN when their ownership or structure has changed. Refer back to our Do You Need An EIN? to determine if this applies to your business. Again, that´s going to be found on our Small Business Self-Employed Tax Center.

Finally, you can verify your EIN. If you received one in the past, and you just don´t know where it is, if it´s lost or misplaced, you can actually go to our website and verify your EIN. Simply look for lost or misplaced your EIN page for instruction.

Now as you can see, there are a variety of products. We also have a variety of online products to help you learn about business taxes, again, on your own time and at your own pace. Remember, these resources are available every day, 24 hours a day, to fit with your busy business schedule. Products like our Online Tax Calendar, the IRS Video Portal and the Small Business Tax Workshop are some of the best educational tools available to you from the IRS. So let´s talk about the Online Tax Calendar first. Now I mentioned the Online Tax Calendar a moment ago, so how do you avoid not filing on time or not making your federal tax deposits timely? I´m glad you asked that as well.

You do this by taking advantage of the free online IRS tax calendar. You can find the Online Tax Calendar at www.IRS.gov/taxcalendar.

Here you can find information on instructions on how to subscribe or how to import the tax calendar. Now the IRS tax calendar allows you to view important tax dates for small businesses on your computer or mobile device, including your smartphone.

The calendar can display general information or various due dates based on your specific business need. You decide what filters are displayed on the calendar. Now for example, if you´re a monthly or semi-weekly depositor, you simply choose that particular filter. Any filing requirements or deposit due dates will show up in your calendar relative to that specific filter, and, bonus, the calendar is available in both English and Spanish.

Submit any feedback about the calendar, the IRS tax calendar at IRS.gov. Now remember, this is an e-mail.

Please don´t share your Social Security number, your Taxpayer Identification Number or address. This mailbox is for feedback to improve the tax calendar, and just a reminder as well: This mailbox cannot access tax returns, offer refunds or transcript information. It cannot answer tax law questions or help with password or log-in information or issues. Okay.

So now let´s move to the IRS Video Portal, which is another very popular online resource. Now I mentioned this a moment ago. The IRS Video Portal is a great online learning tool. Now I know as business owners, you´re busy running your successful business, so you may not be able to join a live webinar. Through the Video Portal, you can watch helpful videos and archived webinars on a variety of topics from filing and paying your taxes to understanding the IRS audit process. Yes, just in case you missed it, we offer live webinars, which is another form of electronic or online communication that the IRS uses to deliver important tax information. Webinars, well, they´re a convenient way for people to see and hear presentations online using their own computers. Those who want to register for a webinar should type webinars in the search box on IRS.gov to reach the registration page.

Live webcasts that are archived are generally added to the portal within about 3 weeks of broadcasting. The portal houses more than 150 IRS videos, webinars and workshops.

Okay.

So now let´s move on to another useful learning tool, and that´s our small business tax workshop. We´ll talk about that next.

I just want to briefly tell everyone about our online Small Business Tax Workshop.

It´s made up of eight lessons.

You pick and choose which one you want to view. Lesson one talks about federal taxes in your new businesses. Lesson two talks about Schedule C and other small-business taxes, lesson three, filing and paying taxes electronically, lesson four, business use of your home, lesson five, federal taxes when hiring employees or independent contractor, lesson six, managing payroll to withhold the correct amount of taxes, lesson seven, tax deposits and filing a return to report payroll taxes and, finally, lesson eight, hiring people who live in the United States who aren´t citizens. This is also a great option for those who can´t attend in-person workshops due to their schedule because this is available online 24-7, again, to fit your schedule. So if you have not taken a look at this helpful resource yet, I encourage you to check it out. What else could the IRS possibly have for you and your business? So glad you asked again.

Have you heard of IRS´s electronic news subscription? Electronic News for Small Businesses is a subscription that was created just for you. E-News for Small Businesses is a free electronic mail service designed to provide tax information for small-business owners and self-employed individuals. Sign up and you will receive information about important upcoming tax dates for small-business, self-employed customers like you, what´s new for small businesses on the IRS´s website. You get reminders and tips to assist you and your small business with tax compliance. You´ll also get IRS news releases and special IRS announcements that pertain to your small-business, self-employed customers like you. Now when you subscribe, you will receive a confirmation e-mail message so remember, you must respond to this e-mail in order to verify your subscription, and if you no longer want to receive it, then simply unsubscribe.

And just in case you missed it, the IRS has a small-business Twitter account, @IRSsmallbiz. That´s IRS S-M-A-L-L B-I-Z, and it includes tax tips. That´s right, just for you and your small business. I would also like to invite you to subscribe to our YouTube channel. That´s right. The IRS has a YouTube channel.

Here you can receive updates when we add new helpful videos for small businesses like yours. Now I have to share some of our highly recommended publications for you and your small business. They are easy to find on IRS.gov, so in the search window enter the publication number, or if you don´t know, no worries, enter the keyword to find the information and publication you need. Finally, be sure to check IRS.gov regularly for the latest information, guidance and tax law changes that may impact your business and your employees. As a business owner, you may have employees, and you may have information that you can find to share with them. For example, as a small-business owner, your employees may be eligible to benefit from the advance child tax credit. I´m sure they´ve heard of it.

Have you?

Well, folks, that´s all the time I have. Thank you so much for your time and attention. Remember, all of the information shared today can be found at www.IRS.gov or www.IRS.gov/smallbiz. All the best to you and your business endeavors.