Start by understanding the bill
Business owners can owe several different kinds of tax at once, and they behave differently. Income tax on profit, payroll taxes withheld from employees, sales tax collected from customers, and property or other local taxes each have their own due dates and penalties. Before arranging money, identify which tax the bill is, which period it covers and the exact amount, including any penalty or interest already added.
Rank it against everything else
- Payroll and trust-fund taxes. Money you collected or withheld for someone else is treated seriously. Do not spend it on other costs.
- Sales tax. You collected it from customers on the state's behalf.
- Income and other business tax. Important, but you may have more room to arrange a payment plan.
A tax professional can confirm the order for your situation. This page is general information and not tax advice.
Options to check before borrowing
- Ask the tax agency about a payment arrangement. Many agencies offer one, and it can cost less than a rushed solution.
- Ask whether a penalty can be reduced for a first offense or for reasonable cause.
- Confirm the amount, because notices sometimes contain errors.
- Look at what you can cover from receivables due in the next two weeks.
When working capital fits
A short-term funding decision can make sense when the penalty and interest for paying late are worse than the cost of financing, when the business is otherwise profitable and when you can see where the money to repay will come from. It makes less sense if the tax bill is a symptom of a business that regularly loses money, because a new obligation sits on top of an old one.
For illustration only: a business with a bill due Friday and a customer payment arriving the following Wednesday may want a short bridge, but not a large cushion.
Avoiding the next one
Most surprise tax bills come from not setting money aside as revenue arrives. A simple habit helps: when a payment lands, move a fixed share into a separate tax account the same day. Ask your accountant for the right share for your situation, and review it quarterly. Keep clean books so your estimate does not rest on guesswork, and mark estimated-payment dates on the calendar a month ahead. A funded bridge is easier to justify once, as a one-time fix, than as a recurring tool.
What to do this week
- Confirm the exact amount and the due date with the agency or your accountant.
- List cash on hand and receivables due before the deadline.
- Ask about a payment arrangement.
- If a gap remains, size it precisely and decide whether a short bridge makes sense.
The application
Funding runs from $25,000 to $5,000,000. The application takes about five minutes with a soft credit pull and FICO 500 and above considered. It asks for about three months of business bank statements and no tax returns. Funding can arrive in as little as 24 hours. Sole proprietors can apply. When you know the amount and the deadline, apply here.