If you are thinking of becoming self-employed, it is important to consider the tax impact and to understand the new tax reporting requirements that you will be subject to. When you are an employee, your employer takes care of withholding taxes from your paychecks. However, once you become self-employed, you must calculate and ... Read More
Business Taxes
IRS Tax Relief and Deductions Available After Hurricane Irene
If you experienced damages and losses as a result of Hurricane Irene, you may be able to take tax deductions at tax time to help offset the expense. In general, people can claim casualty losses, like damages or losses from hurricanes, floods, fire, earthquakes or volcanoes on their federal income tax returns – provided they ... Read More
When to Fire an Accountant or CPA and How to Go About Doing It
Most businesses and individuals with complicated tax returns require the help of a certified public accountant (CPA). A good CPA not only files your taxes, but also analyzes your financials and gives you advice on how to minimize your bottom line. Unfortunately, not all CPAs are good, nor are they all trustworthy. Being able to ... Read More
California Sales Tax to be Collected by Amazon, Overstock, Others
A new California tax collection requirement mandates that large out-of-state retailers, such as Amazon.com and Overstock.com, collect sales taxes on all online purchases made by customers in the state of California. The new legislation was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown last week and went into effect on Friday, July 1, 2011, ... Read More
IRS Form 8300: Q&A on Reporting Cash Payments Over $10K
Individuals who have received over $10,000 in cash payments must understand how to report this income and which forms are necessary. To ensure that you are reporting and filing your income correctly, consider the following filing requirements as described by the IRS: What is Form 8300 and who must use it? Form 8300 is used ... Read More
TurboTax Review: TurboTax 2011 Edition for 2010 Taxes
Each year millions of taxpayers gather documents needed to file their annual tax return. Many of these taxpayers will hand these documents over to an accountant or other tax preparers to ensure their taxes are filed in time for the April deadline. This makes a lot of sense as many taxpayers are overwhelmed with the entire ... Read More
Why the Richest Americans Pay the Least Amount of Taxes
On the surface, the American taxation system is progressive, meaning that those who make more money pay more in taxes. This kind of thinking stems from the belief that those at the bottom of the income ladder need the most support because they may become vulnerable if their disposable income dips below a certain level. However, ... Read More
2010 Year End Business Tax Planning: Ways to Pay Less
As a business owner, you're probably looking for ways to reduce your tax obligations. With only a couple weeks left in the 2010 tax season there are a number of legal methods you can use to reduce your 2010 taxes that you will owe. The end of the year is the perfect time to review or create a business budget. It doesn't matter ... Read More
Texas Pursues Amazon for Sales Taxes
The state of Texas has a two year budget deficit estimated at $21 billion. As they look for ways to recover from the shortfall, they begun hunting Amazon for sales taxes they say they owe. Texas sent Amazon a bill for $269 million to cover sales taxes it says the company owes from online sales made between 2005 and 2009 to Texas ... Read More
The 10 Best State Business Tax Climates by the Tax Foundation
About four times a year, the Tax Foundation publishes a paper to explore an economic issue explored by economists and scholars. The foundation is a nonprofit organization for public education and has been in existence since 1937. The 2010 version of the State Business Tax Climate Index has been released to help lawmakers, ... Read More
Be Cognizant of the Hobby Loss Rule in this Economy
Since the recession began, a number of new businesses started to supplement or substitute incomes during situations of job loss. It is important for these small businesses and their owners to be cognizant of the hobby loss rule instituted by the IRS. Business or Pleasure? The hobby loss rule relates to business expenses used ... Read More
Healthcare Bill Disaster: Send 1099s to Everyone
The IRS 1099-Misc form has always been used to track payments made from one company to either an individual or another company that are not salary-based. If you hire someone to design a website, it's a one time payment. If that payment is more than $600, then you issue that person a 1099-Misc form, and send one to the IRS, so ... Read More
