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Prep for Tax Time All Year Long

Don't wait until the last minute to try to get all of your tax information in order, prep for tax time all year long with some basic organizational strategies. This can be one of the smartest and most important things you ever do. Tax time does not have to be stressful and when you plan ahead throughout the entire year instead of waiting till the last minute, it can make all the difference. One way that you can do this is by creating folders that allow you to store and organized important tax documents all year long. You can easily make folders for all of your important tax information throughout the year. For example you may have one folder for medical expenses, one for home maintenance, mileage, and additional income. Receipts and documentation for all of these expenditures and incomes should be placed in the folders as they arrive. By keeping up with your basic paperwork throughout the year you can easily be ready for tax time without any hassle or searching for documents.

Tax time doesn't have to be stressful and is only made so my being disorganized throughout the year. If you are a homeowner then you are aware that any expenses and income related to your home will be applied at tax time, therefore you don't just scatter home repair receipts all over the place. You keep them together and are ready when the time comes. Small business owners and self employed individuals have to track their income throughout the year and often pay quarterly taxes and income tax. Good record keeping is a must to avoid paying in too much or too little. This will be a very smart move and once you get a routine down, it will be easy to maintain it year after year.

If you usually have to pay in something at tax time set up a savings account to add to through the year to keep from having to come up with a large amount all at once at tax time. Being prepared for tax time is not difficult or even "taxing" it's just a matter of being organized, having a place for everything and everything in its place. By making simple changes to your organization and filing throughout the year you can not only be prepared for tax time, but may also come to dread it a little less.

It's just that easy!

About the Author:

Lisa Mason is a [http://www.freelancewriter4hire.com/]freelance writer with a specialty in Internet content and SEO articles and the author of How to Earn a Living Writing for the Internet. She has written thousands of articles, hundreds of ebooks and thousands of website pages and related content in more than 10 years as a professional writer.

See her website for a free [http://freelancewriter4hire.com/atd.html]article writing template guide as well as more information about writing and the writing services she offers.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Prep-for-Tax-Time-All-Year-Long&id=5817568] Prep for Tax Time All Year Long

Tax Information for New Home Based Businesses

If you own a company, you will need to file business income tax returns. If your operate out of your home and do not have any employees besides yourself, preparing taxes just became a lot easier. That said, there is basic but important tax information you should know before getting started, including tips on how to make the job simpler.

Tax Deductions

When launching a start-up, many business owners question what costs they can and cannot deduct. A simple rule to follow is that tax deductions need to be both ordinary expenses and necessary expenses to the business.

There are several areas where owners can deduct expenses. Some examples include supplies, advertising, travel and meals, insurance, repairs, rent, wages, etc. You can also deduct the business use of your home and car. For a specific breakdown of all deduction categories, review IRS Publication 535, which can be accessed online at the IRS website.

Keeping written receipts and good records of your expenses throughout the year will make your life easier come tax time. Use a separate credit card for business expenditures than your personal credit card. For people who do not use a bookkeeper, it is good idea to invest in a simple accounting program like Quick Books Pro or Quick Books Simple Start to organize both income and expenses so that preparing income tax returns does not become overwhelming.

Income Tax Return Forms

The income tax forms needed for a particular business will vary, depending on the structure of that business (a sole proprietorship, corporation, s corporation, limited liability company or partnership). The forms can be downloaded and printed from the IRS website, along with instructions for filling them out.

Those who run a sole proprietorship or limited liability company use a 1040 individual income tax return form along with a Schedule C, profit or loss from business. Corporations use form 1120 while S corporations use form 1120-S. Partnership companies use form 1065.

Tax Preparation Software

A tax professional can be hired to complete company tax returns, or you can do them yourself. Just like personal tax return software, there is do-it-yourself tax preparation software for businesses. There is even home and business software packages which include both programs for preparing personal returns and corporation business returns. Getting multiple programs together usually offers a cost savings and are a good resource for home based operations.

Well known companies like Intuit (Turbo Tax) and H&R Block (Tax Cut) have combination home and business software that can be purchased for less than $100. For those who prefer not to download anything, Tax Act has a tax prep solution that can be completed online without having to download any software.

Tax return preparation by a field professional can cost upwards of $500, so there is a big cost savings to doing the work yourself. That said, tax consultants may know about certain tax deductions that you would otherwise miss, and they can of course save you a lot of time filling out forms.

For more resources and tips on home business taxes and deductions, see [http://homeandbusinesssoftware.com/turbotax-home-and-business-software-2010.html]Home and Business Tax Return Software and [http://www.homebusinesscenter.com/tax.html]Home Business Tax Deductions.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Tax-Information-for-New-Home-Based-Businesses&id=57...] Tax Information for New Home Based Businesses

5 Steps For Successful Freelance Graphic Design From Home

Starting a new business can be a scary task.Where do you even begin? This quick guide provides 5 basic steps to success in your new adventure.

1. Get your bookkeeping in order. This is the step you will love to hate! Most designers are not good bookkeepers...it's just not in our nature! It's in your best interest to visit an accountant. He will be able to set you up with a Tax ID and provide other valuable guidance regarding sales tax, income tax, etc. Save yourself some money by handling the invoicing yourself. Your accountant will naturally want to provide this service to you, but if you're working with a small budget, use a tool like Quickbooks or paperfreebilling.com. Paperfreebilling.com is perfect for those on the move as it allows you to manage your invoicing from anywhere you can connect to the internet!

2. Produce a General Rate Sheet. Use this sheet as a guide when quoting projects. This way you will be consistent and accurate. For projects such as multi-paged brochures, catalogs are other larger projects, define an hourly rate and use that rate to calculate the number of hours you expect the project to take you; then add 25% to the time you estimated for unforeseen "time-wasters". That will give your client a rough estimate. Make sure you state on the quote that time spent may be higher or lower and you will communicate with the client if the actual billable time exceeds higher than 10% of your quote. Some services will be better served with a solid rate. For instance, full-color business cards design fee could be $49, plus the cost of printing.

3. Brand yourself. Add automatic credibility to your business with a professionally designed website. Take the time to build a simple, attractive website, and design a logo and business card. Don't spend weeks on this - after all, your time is valuable. Keep it simple and uncluttered. Put more effort in a clean layout than building elaborate backgrounds and rollover buttons. There are many free website builders that allow you to quickly build a site and customize options to make it your own. One such site is rel=nofollow [http://www.123gosites.com]www.123gosites.com which allows you to choose from hundreds of templates, easily add pages and provides domain name and email addresses quickly and easily. There are hundreds of other options for easy, do-it-yourself websites - even if you're not a website expert!

4. Make a list of resources. The age of the internet is here to stay. Make use of the great prices offered by such sites as gotprint.com and vistaprint.com. Find out where your local quick print shops are and you'll want some local traditional printing sources too. You'll want to keep the local printers in a database so you can communicate with them when you are ready to start marketing your services.

5. Time to market your services - Take that list of local printers (the one you saved from last step) and write them a professional letter outlining your services...printed nicely with your logo and contact information on it. Make it short and precise. A bullet list of services is helpful for busy people who will inevitably skim it Mail it, give it a week and then follow up with a phone call. Your phone call should be short and sweet. "Hi, my name is...", "how are you", "would love to work with you", "when can I stop by"...Bam! Out of 25 letters sent - you may hook up with 2 or 3 printers. Do this quarterly to build your client base. But don't stop there....target small to medium sized business and do some detective work to learn who the right person is to contact. In any given business, it may be the Marketing Manager, VP of Sales, President or Owner. It really depends upon the size of the business. Then proceed the same way: a personalized letter with a follow up call.

With perseverance and the right attitude, you will be making money in your freelance business in a few months!

This 5-step guide has been developed by Michelle Minix as a result of her freelance journey from green newbie to 12-year veteran. http://www.michelleminix.com

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?5-Steps-For-Successful-Freelance-Graphic-Design-Fro...] 5 Steps For Successful Freelance Graphic Design From Home

Top 5 Positive Impacts of Indian Budget For Financial Year 2010

Reduction of Income Tax Slabs
Thrust on Education, Roads and Agriculture
Fiscal Deficit Reduction
Increase in growth
Formation of FDSC

Reduction of Income Tax Slabs: Since there is a reduction in income tax slabs it leaves the common man, the consumer with more money in hand to spend. So this budget is thought to be a refreshing change for both middle and lower income groups. But according to some of the people, it will help to negate the increasing inflation rate. Acc. to HDFC chairman, Deepak Parekh it is anticipated that reduction in food inflation will be taken care of by increased inflation in fuel, crude products and another round of increase in prices of fuel is also expected by him.

Thrust on Education, Roads and Agriculture: According to the Finance Minister,the main areas which will be focused this financial year are education, roads and agriculture. Increase in education is anticipated to be about 30%, that is an increase from 31,000 crore to a figure of 41,000 crore. Next focus will be on roads and an increase of 20% in the development is expected in the same that is an increase to a figure of 45-46000 crore. But agriculture, which has been the weakest link of our economy last fiscal year will also be focused by introduction of new policies.

Fiscal Deficit Reduction: This is the best part to cheer about as the government borrowings will be less this year. The fiscal deficit figure expected this year is 5.5% which seems to be an achievable target according to Deepak Parekh, chairman of HDFC. Acc. to him, there are many points in Indian Economy that if they are priced properly then these figures and also the figures anticipated for upcoming years that is, 4.8% can be easily achieved and even more. This will be mainly done with the help of disinvestment. And in the coming times it will be tax revenues which will more payable than sharp spending cuts to achieve the figures.

Increase in growth: There will be a good increase in growth about 8-8.5% this financial year, which is expected to be more in FY11. Rate hikes, would not dent the growth of Indian Economy.

Formation of FDSC: This new body will be a decision making body rather than a regulatory body like the previous bodies.Actually it was initially proposed by Rajiv Ram committee but came into formation now. Acc to HDFC chairman, Deepak Parekh who waive off the rumors surrounding this body coming into picture that it's just a coordinating body and won't dilute RBI's role in Indian Economy. He says there was a dire need of such a body as RBI's governor is not supposed to take decisions. Its name itself implies Stability as in Fiscal Development Stability Corporation. He says he is happy with its introduction as it will prove to be beneficial for the economy in a longer run.

Free online money making techniques. Tips and techniques available on the blog. http://ks-money.blogspot.com

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Top-5-Positive-Impacts-of-Indian-Budget-For-Financi...] Top 5 Positive Impacts of Indian Budget For Financial Year 2010

Work at Home Tips - Income Tax Organization

Is it really that time of year again? Time goes by so fast, especially if you've been relatively busy with your home business within the past year.

There are so many things to remember when preparing your tax returns, as well as knowing exactly what is considered taxable. Let's take a quick look at what may be taxable in your work at home situation.

Here are just a few that I've listed below:

1. Monthly Internet bill. I know this is the number one item on my list since I work at home and I have to use the Internet to make my income.

2. Monthly hosting bill if you own your own domain name. This is another important write off for your business, especially if you own several domains/websites and your hosting bill is considerably high.

3. Monthly phone bill. If you own a business and you use your phone to run your business, then yes, you need to write off your phone bill.

4. Business transportation mileage. If you use your automobile for business, such as home parties, this is another important taxable write off. Fuel prices has went up considerably. You need to keep careful track of all your transportation expenses (including gas receipts), and file anything and everything that you can.

5. Advertising expenses. Some people pay for advertising for promotion purposes and some do not. If you do pay for advertising, then you need to file these expenses on your taxes. Depending on the type of advertising, it may or may not be taxable, but it's always safe to file all expenses.

6. Charitable contributions. Your contributions must meet specific criteria to be considered taxable. It's still important to record all contributions for the year and your tax adviser will sort it out accordingly.

There are definitely more that need to be listed here. I just wanted to go over a few of the top ones to consider for your business. To do a more elaborate research on what is taxable, you can visit irs.gov.

Tips for organizing your tax documents

Don't wait until the end of the year to start getting those important documents together. Start at the beginning of the year and place all relevant papers in their proper place. There are so many people (and I used to be one of them) that just shove these documents into hiding anywhere they can find, and not where they are supposed to be kept for fast reference.

For example I have a file folder in my file cabinet that houses my office expense receipts, ink cartridges, paper, pens, pencils, software receipts, new computer/printer receipts, and the like. When you purchase something for your business, immediately when you return home, place those receipts in their proper folder.

Earnings and expense records

I've learned over the years to keep a document for my earnings and also for my expenses in safe folders on my computer. I also actively backup all my files on a regular basis. You can of course figure out your earnings and expenses at the beginning of every year, but wouldn't it make much more sense to do this as you go along with your business and record each transaction? It would definitely save you a considerable amount of time by doing this daily.

Basic office supplies for organizing your work at home office

calendar
file cabinets
interior or manila file folders
hanging file folders and labels
Microsoft Money or Quickbooks accounting software (if you choose), you can always keep active spreadsheets for business accounting purposes
sticky notes

With careful home business planning and organization skills, you will be more career productive.

Important: Also with precise organization, you will know at a moment's notice where these documents are if you are ever audited.

Article Written By: Tammy Embrich

Tammy offers work at home articles, free work at home job leads, and other business resources on her [http://articlesplus.blogspot.com]Work At Home Articles blog.

You can also visit Tammy at [http://www.onestopwebemployment.com]Work At Home Jobs, offering more free job leads, work at home articles, work at home tips, and more.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Work-at-Home-Tips---Income-Tax-Organization&id=3611037] Work at Home Tips - Income Tax Organization