Reads from Last week
Yes This post is on top on purpose Don’t Let the Naysayers Get You Down.
From The Wondering Tax Pros WHAT’S THE BUZZ? TELL ME WHAT’S A HAPPENNIN’ I found “How Will Healthcare Reform Affect MY Taxes?” I would agree with my blogging friend here that it seems to do a good job of answering the question. And seriously if you aren’t reading his twice a week post What’s the Buzz, you missing a lot of great info.
Working from Home: Do You Have a Back-Up Plan? – One of the great things about working from home, and running your own business, is that you have a great deal of flexibility. Your dress code is flexible. Your schedule is largely flexible. The types of jobs you take can be flexible. However, there are some issues that you can run into when you work from home, and these are not so flexible.
This has to be my personal favorite this week.
Education and Wealth: You Don’t Need a College Degree, But You Need an Education – College is overrated. There, I said something you’ve probably suspected since you were in high school and may have confirmed several years after you entered the workforce. You probably know many people who excelled in college and can barely string together a cohesive thought. And you probably know many successful people who never went to college, barely made it through college, or work in a field unrelated to their degree.
THE COST OF TAX RETURN PREPARER REGISTRATION From THWTP is a statement. As I have read it, Robert is pointing out clearly, how little this is going to cost when figured out from a realistic perspective. Yes my friend, as in your practice this will only cost less than $1.00 per client or “set” as you put it. For me in my math I was just over a dollar and I have chosen not to even bother raising prices based on these new Regs. and expenses. I am sure the whole world of Tax preparation is aware (preparers) the cost are minimal. Unfortunately, most in our world will take advantage of the situation. They’ll monopolize on the idea that their cost have gone up and thus must raise their cost to their clients. What I am saying is I agree that the cost is very low per client, but money hungry tax preparers, CPA, Tax Attorneys and the others, I see them raising pricing, beyond their cost.
Shulman Power Grab To Be Paid for by $64.25 Charge Per Practitioner
IRS Announces New Return Preparer Application System and User Fee
The IRS released (IR-2010-91) the new proposed regulations amending Circular 230
“The IRS and the Treasury Department estimate that the total annual costs resulting from these requirements will be $9,880,000 for all affected practitioners and $38,632,500 for all affected continuing education providers.
Estimated total annual record-keeping and reporting burden is 1,710,000 hours
Section 10.3(f) of the proposed regulations establishes a new “registered tax return preparer” designation. A registered tax return preparer is any individual so designated under §10.4(c) who is not currently under suspension or disbarment from practice before the IRS. An individual who is a registered tax return preparer pursuant to this part is a practitioner authorized to practice before the IRS, subject to the limitations identified in these proposed regulations.”
WSJ: Give Away Money to Charity, Not to Foundations
IRS to Audit 6,000 Businesses at Random and Take Back What It’s Owed in Unpaid Employment Taxes – Earlier this year, the Internal Revenue Service began employment tax audits of approximately 6,000 U.S. companies to provide statistical data for the National Research Program study of employment tax compliance.
(Take the lesson.)
Can the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau save us from ourselves?
Please Explain To Me… – What unique internal procedures does a CPA firm that other tax firms don’t have? I really want to know too.
Results are In: You STILL Hate the IRS!
So you hate the IRS? Well, you’re not the only one. Near the end of last week an Internal Revenue Service Office was evacuated after a suspicious envelope arrived.
3 Tips to Maintain Focus on Your Financial Goals
Your 2011 tax burden revised – Late last month Kay Bell reported on the Tax Foundation’s online calculator that will let you compare your 2011 federal income tax liabilities under three possible tax collection scenarios. Not a group to just sit and wait, the Foundation’s numbers crunchers have updated the interactive calculator to include the Democrats’ plan for the expiring Bush-era tax cuts. Read more. . .
Prepare for the crash tax – The taxing possibilities from jurisdictions scrambling for every possible dollar just keep coming.
How to Best Utilize Health Savings Accounts – 2010 and 2011 HSA Limits and Tax Rules
Investor or Business Owner? The Right Structure Makes a HUGE Difference
The IRS’s Dirty Little Trick on Real Estate Investors – Material Participation Rules
Court: Internet Church Is Not a ‘Church’ for Tax Purposes
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Monday ruled that the Foundation of Human Understanding, a 47 year old § 501(c)(3) nonprofit church that conducts weekly Internet and radio services, is not a church for § 170 purposes. Foundation of Human Understanding v. United States, No. 2009-5129 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 16, 2010):
Tax Politics and Economic Uncertainty
“According to Martin Regalia, chief economist of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “Uncertainty is the probably the biggest factor retarding economic growth.” He made this comment at an economic summit, at which, according to this report, other participants called for cuts in government spending, reduction of the federal budget deficit, a reduction in government regulation of business, and reform of the tax system, though Regalia, according to another report, also supports extension of the Bush tax cuts.”
What is Stop Loss Pay? Stop loss pay is compensation being paid to those members of the military service who were not allowed to leave the service on time. This pay is on top of all other pay provided to the soldiers. It is specific compensation for not being able to leave the service. How to Claim Stop Loss Pay for Military Personnel
The government is paying $500 for every month that a soldier was stop lossed.
If the average stop loss length of time is 6 months that’s $3,000 due to every single one of those soldiers (on average). That’s a significant amount of money in my eyes. Enough money to propel your savings goals forward. Enough money to fund 60% of an IRA this year.
4 Ways to Maximize Your Stop Loss Pay – The government is giving a specific set of soldiers, on average, $3,000 in stop loss pay. Hopefully these men and women of our armed forces have a plan for a couple thousand dollars falling in their laps. If not, then read this post.
My two post from last week The Pulse of Your Business, and Planning Retirement Withdrawals kind of stayed from the tax info, but the information is good information for those who it was written for. Both these post are from my August Newsletter. If you’d like to sign up to receive this kind of information you can do so from the Newsletter page. For those of you who like there is an RSS link as well.
Do you want to not worry about money all the time? Or do you ever wish that you were never in debt? Here are 5 great ways to save money fast! 5 Easy Tips to Save Money.
I wish I had wrote this. Car Finance How to Decide on Whether to Lease Or Buy a New Car I have a lot of clients that would need to use this information.
Business Car Leasing The Most Economical and Smart Thing to Go For
Refinancing Myth: Looking Beyond the Monthly Payment and Calculating the True Cost of Your Refinance – Mortgage lenders often attract homeowners seeking to lower their mortgage interest rate with some simple math, usually presented in one of two ways:
1) Comparing the nominal closing costs to the total savings from 30 years of a lower monthly payment, or
2) How few months it will take before you break even with your refinancing closing costs due to lowering the monthly payment
Either way, the refinance looks very attractive: for a little cash up front, you can save far more money over the term of the loan. But don’t be fooled by the numbers – a lower monthly payment does not always mean saving more money, and it has little to do with the closing costs. The paradox can be explained easily by calculating the true total cost refinancing the loan.. . .
From L & R Tax Prep Web site refinance calculator
Other useful Calculators
Rent vs. Buy
Should you rent or should you buy your home? It takes more than looking at your mortgage payment to answer this question. This calculator helps you weed through the fees, taxes, and monthly payments to help you make a good financial decision.Mortgage Qualifier
The first step in buying a house is determining your budget. This interactive problem solver steps you through the process of finding out how much you can borrow.Mortgage Refinance Analyzer
Should you refinance your mortgage? Find out how much money you’ll save and how long it will take to breakeven on a mortgage refinance?Mortgage Reduction Analyzer
Save thousands of dollars in interest by increasing your monthly payment. Find out how much sooner you will pay off your mortgage by making extra payments?Mortgage Comparison: 15 years vs. 30 years
Determining which mortgage term is right for you can be a challenge. Use this calculator to compare these two mortgage terms, and let us help you decide which term better for you.Mortgage Points Evaluator
Should you pay points? This calculator helps you determine if you should pay for points, or use the money to increase your down payment.
Waking up sick Friday morning was just bad timing. I had a lot of things to do, where people depended on me. The work got done, but in part, no thanks to me. Saturday wasn’t much better. I was able to at least get some work done yesterday; it wasn’t near as much as I would have hoped.
In Closing this long list, I would like to point out that I have added some new links to my Blog rolls.
Angell EYE is an application development company that has been providing custom integration and web services for over 5 years. We deliver web site design and development, custom web application development and advanced web programming, FileMaker development, and more.
Over the past 5 years, Angell EYE has been specializing in custom eBay integration and PayPal Payments Pro solutions. 1 of only 12 PayPal Certified Ace Developers, we have had the pleasure of integrating PayPal for numerous happy clients. L & R client also
The Best Credit Card Processing System For Your Business. Unleash The Power of PayPal & Turn Your Laptop or Desktop PC Into a Fully Functional Credit Card Processing System! Credit Card Processing for Fixed Locations or Wireless Freedom,
Accept Major Credit Cards with one low FLAT RATE – L & R client also
a non-profit that connects organizations involved with aging research, facilitate the exchange of information, provide publications and bring people together to understand why aging research is requiring their full attention.- L & R client also
The Top 10 Highest State Income Taxes: All Obama Blue States
Forbes, States (And Bill Gates Sr.) Look to Soak the Rich, by Ashlea Ebeling:
- Hawaii: 11% (income over $400,000 (couple), $200,000 (single))
- Oregon: 11% (income over $500,000 (couple), $250,000 (single))
- California: 10.55% (income over $1 million)
- Rhode Island: 9.9% (income over $373,650)
- Iowa: 8.98% (income over $64,261)
- New Jersey 8.97% (income over $500,000)
- New York: 8.97% (income over $500,000)
- Vermont: 8.95% (income over $373,650)
- Maine: 8.5% (income over $39,549 (couple), $19,749 (single))
- Washington, D.C.: 8.5% (income over $40,000)
Personal Finance 101: Budgeting – it doesn’t have to hurt
With the economy as it is and all that’s happening in our country and around the world, most people are looking for ways to save money, cut out waste, spend less, tighten their purse strings -whatever you want to call it. We all are trying to survive on less, to make more money or figure out ways to make what we have go further. I thought this post especially timely as the holiday season is upon us and many of us are wondering how Santa is going to make it all work this year.
There are a couple of basic things involved with managing your personal finances successfully; know how much money is coming in and how much money is going out; then make sure more is coming in then going out. It sounds easy enough but actually requires some careful planning.
A budget plan is a chart that shows you the flow of money in your everyday life. A budget can help you determine where you are overspending as well as help you adjust bad spending habits. Usually by making slight adjustments to your budget, you can create the ability to save more or free up money to make larger payments on your debts or at this time of year, buy presents for your family and friends. YAY for presents & smiles & fun & good food & egg nog!! Oops, I got a little carried away, back to the budgeting plan.
The first thing needed to create a successful budget plan is to know exactly the amount of net cash you have coming in each month. So start by gathering your paystubs, deposit slips, if you have reoccurring monthly bank deposits (alimony or child support pmts, SSA, pensions, etc). It’s a good idea to have either a monthly budget book or even an online planner. Even something as simple as an excel spreadsheet works, but you need something where you can record your expenditures and income. Start by keeping track of all your monthly living expenses and other monthly bills. There’s really no need to spend money on fancy budgeting software – you can go online and Google “budget plans” and you’ll find some great household budgets you can download, copy or print for free that are pretty good and will get you started. You can “tweak” it to fit your own expenses – there’s usually a couple miscellaneous categories already listed anyway. You can even do this on a piece of paper.
I always suggest that you start with the “known” or fixed expenses each month, like car payment(s), rent/house payment, car insurance, medical insurance, etc. and enter those. Then go to your bills that you need to get a 12-month average for, like your utilities. By looking back on your heating bills, phone & electric bills from the last year, you can get an average monthly amount and in many cases the utility companies will let you go on a monthly budget plan if that’s easier for you. If you don’t know or didn’t keep records of those bills for the last 12 months, most utility companies can get you those figures easy enough if you ask, in most cases at no cost to you, or a very minimal fee. Groceries are a little harder to determine as well as eating out so the best way for you to truly set an accurate budget is to track every single expense for at least one full month, usually two months in a row if you’re doing this for the first time or it’s been more than a couple of years since you’ve done a budget. I know it can be a pain in the behind but it helps you to get the most accurate picture of your finances and a place to begin and usually people find out they’re spending a lot more on things they don’t really need or didn’t know they were spending that much money on and it helps tremendously in giving you back control.
The other thing in creating an accurate budget plan is to remember to include all the little things most of us don’t think about, like buying a specialty coffee or latte on the way to work or a few lottery tickets a week or month, garbage pick-up, paper products, a drink or two out with friends, kids or adults lunch money each week. Lunch money can add up real quick as I found out in my house when my 3 daughters were all in 3 different schools and I was shelling out lunch money every morning. When I added it up, I had to add another category to my budget plan since it was over $150 per mth just for them! And yes sometimes I did pack their lunches but that still cost me on average $2-3 per day (about the same as hot lunch) so I still had to plan for and budget that in – and it wasn’t something I thought of at all at first.
You also really need to control your emotions and try not to “impulse buy”. I know…I know sometimes you just have to have that chocolate bar (ladies you know what I’m talkin’ about) or a Friday night beer or two after work, and by no means am I suggesting you cut out all those types of indulgences – after all, you work hard for your money and if you can’t buy a few frivilous fun things to relax or reward yourself once in awhile, then what’s it all for? I agree…but the point here is in order to make sure you have enough money at the end of a given month to be able to do those things while still paying all your bills and saving some money, then you have to first have an idea of what you’re spending and where. Most of the time people find they can save a substantial amount ($100′s per mth sometimes) by cutting out things that they really won’t even miss; like the morning latte. Or….still get a coffee on the way to work if that’s what you really like, but make it a regular for $1.50 instead of a specialty drink at $4. Or if you usually go out to lunch at work and you really enjoy it, try going out only 3 times per wk then pack some of the time. Or eat out where you know you’re likely to have leftovers. That way if it’s an $8 lunch but you can eat the rest the next day, then it now became a $4 lunch or give yourself a weekly “lunch out” budget. It might sound a bit silly but I know for me, as a single mother of 3, at times when things were so very lean, I had to do that to survive or be able to get birthday presents, and I still do the “weekly lunch out” thing – it just makes good sense to me. And none of this is complicated or has negatively impacted my daily life…I’m still feeling “fulfilled” each day whether I pack a sandwich and some fruit from home or got out with friends from work that day.
Remember to keep all receipts for 2 months and then you can go back and create an accurate budget plan. Then you can pick and choose for yourself where you want to cut things, change things in order to meet your financials goals. Whether it’s saving money for the future (which that’s a topic for another day) or coming up with money for Christmas or birthdays, a vacation fund or maybe it’s just being able to pay all your bills ontime and not feel so stressed. Whatever it is that you want to accomplish, ask yourself ”Do I really need to buy this? Can I cover it in my budget? Is it going to help me with my long term goals? Can I live without it today? We all hope to have discretionary income each month to have fun with but sometimes we have to learn to cut back temporarily (hobbies, entertainment, specialty clothes) to have more in the long run. I hope this helps – maybe even inspires you to get started today and hopefully add a few more presents under your tree this year.
Kimmer
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