Tax Issues To Think About For 2014 and Beyond There are two main tax issues to think about in the upcoming years: the affect of the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care), and the phasing out of popular tax deductions. This article will discuss succinctly the Act’s affect in regard to the penalty that will be placed on all those without healthcare, starting the 2014 tax year, and the phasing out of the lower healthcare threshold for itemized filers, higher-education tuition deduction, mortgage insurance premiums deduction, and the mortgage debt exclusion. Obama Care Penalty Starting in the tax year 2014, persons…Read More
Second Home Tax Advantages Looking for a way to make your vacation home a little more affordable? Have you ever thought about turning your vacation home into a business? By answering yes to both of these questions, you may be thinking of saving a little money. By turning your vacation home into a business, you could offset the income that you earn on the home with the expenses that are accumulated through-out the year. For example, if your water heater breaks unexpectedly, you would be forced to pay the repairs out of your own pocket with no tax advantage on…Read More
Tax Tips For The Recent Graduate So you just graduated from college, and now you are on your own for many things—including tax preparation. It is likely that your parents and peers will give little if any guidance on how you should go about filing your tax return. So what should you do? This short article will point out two very important portions of your tax return: how you should go about deductions, and what status you should choose when filing. Deductions sound like a very intimidating topic. Every day we learn about a new deduction that we could claim…Read More
Thinking about having a child but scared that your employment, or the employment of your loved one, may be in jeopardy? First, congratulations on this life-changing event that is sure to be a wonderful period in your life. Second, fear not, for the US government has made sure that employees are protected when preparing for child birth. Two laws in particular stand out: The Pregnancy Discrimination Act protects those who are pregnant and are in the job search process, or who currently hold a position in a company. The law outlines that companies with more than 15 employees must treat…Read More
Emprendedor estos consejos sobre impuestos son para ti: 1. Las Comidas Las comidas son deducibles hasta el 50% de los costos de los impuestos, pero debe haber habido un propósito de negocios para la comida. Simplemente ir a almorzar durante la jornada no es suficiente. Por ejemplo, si está conociendo a un cliente o a un proveedor de para discutir asuntos de negocios, esto probablemente baste. Asegúrese de usted nota el propósito de la cena, lo que se discutió, el día, hora, y cantidad de la cena. Por lo general, el mejor lugar para escribir esta información es en la…Read More
As a small business owner, it is very important to forge personal relationships with your customers. While personal relationships help in maintaining current customers as well as attaining new ones, those relationships also make debt collection difficult. When simply sending out an invoice does not result in prompt payment, you need to invest a lot of time and effort into collecting your business’s debts, while still maintaining professional and positive communication with your customer. That is why it is important to hire an attorney to collect your debt for you. While debt collection agencies can alienate your customers by using…Read More
A contingent payment clause by definition conditions a paying party’s payment upon the independent action of a third party. For instance, if a general contractor agrees to remodel a customer’s kitchen, independently contracting with a plumber to re-route pipes the general contractor may reserve payment to the plumber contingent on payment from the home owner. By doing this a general contractor is able to pass on the risk of non-payment to the subcontractor, the plumber in this scenario. The general contractor would include a contingent payment clause provision within the contract that the general contractor has with the subcontractor. A…Read More
Are written leases required for month-to-month leases on properties? All leases whether it is annual or month-to-month should be in writing. And the main reason is that a landlord/tenant need to know what they are responsible for, including security deposit. It’s extremely imperative that all parties know their responsibilities for the unit. An example can be a person is going to be in charge of fumigation while the other tenant is going to be in charge of outdoor maintenance for the lawn. These details are very important and if not put in writing, one party could find themselves getting…Read More
Starting A Business With Friends Starting a business with friends or anyone can be a tricky ordeal. With friends, however, questions that often should be asked do not arise due to the business person’s overwhelming optimism in their idea. This optimism, while seemingly a necessary evil for someone that is starting a business, is something that must be controlled to prevent the business from failing while keeping the friendship from falling apart. A business person’s optimism often causes them not to ask questions like: what if my co-business owners have a life changing event and need to cash out; who…Read More
