With the April 15 filing deadline looming on the financial horizon, many businesses are scrambling to get their accounting records together in time to face a slew of new tax policies.

“It’s hard to do much this time of year, but the legislation passed in February changed the rules a bit, and there are still a couple things that business owners can do right now,” said Bridget Foreman, partner at Bartlett, Pringle & Wolf in Santa Barbara.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the Economic Stimulus Package of 2009, a $787 billion bill signed by President Barack Obama in February, was intended to spur individual and business spending and investment. Tri-county tax professionals said that between that piece of legislation and the California state budget, there are a host of new policies to review before filing.

“On top of heightened stress because of the economy, you’ve got a ton of changes that are coming out,” Foreman said. “It’s been a difficult tax season so far because we’re trying to explain the new rules to our clients, but half of our questions haven’t been answered by the IRS. So that makes it difficult, and there’s a little uncertainty as to how it will play out.”

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