A Week in Perspective

“For myself, I am an optimist – it does not seem to be much use being anything else.”

- Sir Winston Churchill

As I work on building my business I realize I can easily say the same thing.

As the year draws near it’s close so does our tax year 2010. Many have asked, about my organizer. It is now up. You can go to my company web site Tax Center page. There on the right hand side you’ll find Online Tax Organizer, used mostly by clients and/or those who will be clients. This year I also have a Free Tax Organizer. You’ll need a .pdf reader to open this 14 page organizer. While on the Tax Center page, be sure to check out all the other great things I have there. As January draws closer I will be adding many other helpful aides including my famous Fair Market Value guide.

Not much here as the week was very short for me:

Top 50 Blogs for Tax Tips and Advice – The old saying is that death and taxes are the only certainties. However, tax law is always changing. In fact, in some cases it takes a tax professional to help you understand the process. People go to school for years to learn the ins and outs of tax law — and then they have to If you are looking for some direction with your taxes, you can find some advice on the web. You need to be careful of where you get the information, but you can get a good start on learning some of the basics when you read these 50 blogs on taxes: Thanks to everyone, The Missouri Taxguy made this list.

New rules for rental property owners – Searching for some clarity on the new rules for rental property owners? Then follow these tips from personal finance expert for women Christine Parker, CFP® to help you better understand the expanded reporting requirements.

Under Audit? What Every Taxpayer Should Know About IRS Tax Audits – “I recently read an article on CNNMoney.com written by Beth Braverman titled “5 things to know about getting audited.” I am always looking for helpful resources for my readers, so I wanted to share this IRS tax relief advice with you.  Here is a quick summary of the 5 tips discussed in the article.”

Should You Save Money or Pay Off Debt? – After a few years of being down, many of us are finding ways to get our finances back in order. While some extra money in your pocket is great, understanding what to do with it is a different story. Our friends, family members and of course random personal finance bloggers are telling you that you need to save more money, but is it smarter to save money or pay off debt with it?

DON’T ELIMINATE THESE DEDUCTIONS – Many of the tax reform proposals that are surfacing recommend eliminating the itemized deduction for local real estate and state and local income or sales taxes. Some also call for doing away with the deduction for mortgage interest; one wants to replace the deduction with a 15% credit.

Warren Buffet Says Tax the Rich More – Warren Buffet tells Christiane Amanpour that the wealthy should pay a “lot more” in taxes in this clip from an upcoming interview on “This Week with Christiane Amanpour.” Buffet does, however, advocate cutting taxes for those in the lower brackets.

Relocating? You May Need to File Two State Tax Returns – People who relocate from one state to another likely will need to file two state tax returns. Tonya Moreno, CPA, explains how to file two partial year state returns and split your income and deductions between the states where you lived during the year.

ANOTHER BROADWAY TRIVIA CONTEST!

When Things Don’t Go As Planned – We all encounter unexpected setbacks from time to time, which can include things like medical bills, car repairs, layoffs, etc. Of course, having a good emergency fund helps with many unexpected setbacks, but sometimes it’s easier to roll with the punches than others.

Will Your Site Survive the Google Shrink Ray? – I found this a very interesting article and one that I will reference. Remember the three-second rule for websites? The one that said that your visitor will decide within the first three seconds whether or not they’ll stay on your site? Forget that: it’s now the 0.3 second rule. Does your site have what it takes to make the cut? Let’s find out. (And if not, let’s get it fixed). I go to websites, especially a blog I intend to see an article. I hate it very much when my 21 inch wide screen is filled only with the title of the post and a bunch of ads or links to other sites that sell crap. I usually close that page. Sadly I am sure I am missing some great information because some blogger with great insight would rather make money then inform their readers on their subject.

Year-end business tax moves to celebrate Small Business Saturday

Bloggers, this is a must read for you.

Why Link? 7 Reasons to Share Link Love – My readers notice this and like it. In fact, at BlogWorld one attendee said she learned of a terrific blog through my weekend sharing, but asked me why I try to make such a point of it? “Why link?” she asked? “Isn’t it spamming to link outside all the time? Why can’t you just share it on Twitter or something?”

Glad she asked…

Shape Up Your Finances – This is from a recent article published by TurboTax.  It gave readers advice to, among other things, reach your fitness resolutions for the year.  I think these tips apply to your business’s financial fitness as well.  Here is what they said: {. . . .} Here is what I say:

Basis: The Basics

The 25 Most Influential Finance Bloggers You Should Know – f you’ve wandered around the personal finance blogging world for any length of time, you’ll soon discover there are some pretty big names, and influential bloggers out there! Many of them have written books, appeared in the media, and have spoken at various events and workshops! If you haven’t been around the personal finance blogging world, then you may not have had a chance to read and experience these great bloggers.

LinkedIn’s New ‘Company Pages’ Showcase Products, Recommendations – LinkedIn has released a new version of its company profiles called “Company Pages,” which provides a place for businesses to “showcase their products, services and associated recommendations,” according to LinkedIn.  Heretofore, LinkedIn company profiles served only a research purpose that helped users find companies to work for and engage in business. With the introduction of a new tab called “Products & Services” the once sedate profile takes on an entirely new social commerce role.

I like the new site design Trish –

Unreported Tip Income – Employers – Generally, when I think about unreported tip income, I think of the employee who doesn’t report to their employer the full amount of their tips so that they don’t have to pay tax on them. But the truth is that many employers only allow their help to report a set amount or none at all. That way they don’t have to pay the FICA on the tips. But employees are required to report tip income on their tax return  that were not reported to their employer. This is done through Form 4137.

IRS decision key to January tax hikes – The IRS is waiting, just like the rest of us, for Congress to act on the expiring tax rates. As I mentioned in my post last week, the IRS can’t just take Congress’ word that it will do its job. The agency operates under the tax laws as they now exist.

That means the Bush tax cuts will expire and withholding tables for 2011 will reflect that.

And that means smaller paychecks as next year’s withholding calculations account for higher taxes for us all.

Tips on Managing Your Accounts Receivable – Having Accounts Receivable i.e. amounts owing by customers is both good and bad. It’s good because it means that you have sales and customers. It’s bad because it is cash that you don’t have now, and there is always a possibility that you won’t collect. When you offer credit terms to your customers it is extremely important to have a system in place to manage your accounts receivable. It is difficult to collect amounts due when you don’t actually know how much you are owed or when it is due. Having the information at your fingertips (this really relates to any kind of information) also makes a great impression. Below are some steps to help manage and collect on your accounts receivable:

Letterman – Top Ten Things I’ve Learned From Being An Accountant

How Will the New IRS Audit Program Affect Your Small Business? – Has your business ever been audited by the IRS? Just hearing those words can send a shiver of fear down any entrepreneur’s spine. Unfortunately, small business owners have more reason than usual to be nervous about opening their mail for the next few years thanks to the IRS’s Employment Tax National Research Project (NRP).

10 Surprising Ways a Small Home Saves You Money – It is fairly obvious that buying a small home is going to be a cheaper decision than buying a large home. The total amount of money that you will pay to purchase the home is lower (assuming that the homes are otherwise comparable). Additionally, the smaller size means that you will have lower energy bills so you will save a lot of money on utility bills over time. But there are actually a lot of other small and surprising ways that a small house can save you money. That’s something to think about when deciding what size home you want to buy. Look at these ten potential money-saving features of choosing a small home:

5 Tips for Taking Vacation From the Home Office

Tips to consider when making year-end estate planning decisions – Big changes are coming to the estate tax in 2011 with or without Congressional action. At the end of this year, the estate tax reform passed in 2001 is set to expire. Lawmakers still have not made up their minds what to do about estate tax reform. Given this uncertainty, following are tips from Grant Thornton LLP to keep in mind for planning:

The Buck Stops Here – The phrase “the buck stops here” was made famous by President Harry Truman. It essentially means that you won’t pass the buck to anyone, but will be responsible for making the decisions. I happen to believe that “the buck stops here” is one of the keys to improving your financial life.

Funny Tax Videos for the Thanksgiving Weekend

How a Recession Changes the Rules for Executive Staffing – The days of vice-presidents in every department and huge holiday bonuses have come to an end. For those who benefited from those practices, that is bad news for you. For those who run companies that once had that type of set-up, you now have an opportunity to make positive changes to improve your bottom line. The corporate structures of yesteryear, if used in today’s economy, will lead you straight to the poor house, along with all of the hard-working men and women you employ. The recent recession has changed all the rules, especially when it comes to executive staffing.

Big 1099 Changes in 2011 for Business Owners and Rental Property Owners – Beginning in January 2011, if you pay any one person or company more than $600 in a year to provide you with either goods OR services, you’ll need to track that information and issue that person/company a 1099-MISC in 2012. You can thank the Patient Protection and Accountability Act (PPACA) passed in March of 2010 for this new rule. Under the old rules, you only provided 1099-MISCs to service providers who met the $600+ threshold, and…

3 Steps to Avoid Form 1099 Penalties

Read This Before You Hire a Financial Advisor – While managing your finances is certainly not an easy task, personal finance at its most basic level is simply making sure that you are earning more than you are spending, and that your savings will be able to carry you through life after you’ve stopped working full-time. Even though it sounds simple enough, there are a lot of moving pieces to balance in a financial package, including investments, insurance, credit cards, mortgages and more. And with the global economic downturn humbling many of us, more and more people are turning to outside advisors for personal finance help. But even hiring outside help can be confusing if you don’t fully understand what you’re getting yourself into, and it’s certainly not cheap. So before you pay someone else, your time and effort is probably best spent uncovering the answers to some basic questions and gaining a deeper understanding of your inclinations, your financial habits, and what you can do to control them.

U.S. tax expatriates expanding – Have you ever seriously considered giving up your United States citizenship to avoid paying the IRS? Apparently more Americans are doing just that. The Financial Times of London reports that three times as many Americans renounced their citizenship in 2009 as did in 2008.

10 out of 9 accountants can’t count – There are basically three types of accountants:  those who can count and those who cannot. But who needs to count or add anyway?  We have the sum command in Excel and calculators that can fit in a shirt’s pocket.  We don’t need to foot or cross-foot any longer:  QuickBooks never fails to produce a trial balance displaying the equality of debits and credits, except for that one client in Toledo.

© 2010, Bruce Mc. All rights reserved.