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Tax Deductions for Entrepreneurs
If there was one piece of advise I could give to you for the sake of your business, it would be....keep ALL of your receipts! Whether you keep them in a shoebox or nicely organized, receipts are the essential piece of information your Accountant will need in order to get you all those nice tax deductions!
Below is a list of typical expenses deducted by businesses:
- Costs associated with accounting: That's right, you can deduct those pesky accounting fees.
- Advertising: You know those flyers you made? Deduct the price. Business cards? Deduct that cost too. In fact, costs associated with your yellow pages, newspaper, magazine, and radio ads are all deductible, as are signs, billboards, and brochures. You can also deduct the cost of promotion items like refrigerator magnets and keychains.
- Bank Charges for business account: Safe deposit boxes, bank overdraft fees, and other incidental bank charges are all deductible.
- Bookkeeping costs: Costs associated with payroll services, which will do the payroll for your business for a fee, are something you can deduct.
- Internet access charges/on-line charges: If your business has a reason to be on the web, or if you need access to the web as part of your business, then deduct away!
- Computer supplies: Printer ink cartridges, RAM upgrades, etc.
- Continuing education costs/seminars: Note that if you incur education expenses as part of your existing business, these are deductible, but if you incur them as part of starting out on a new business or career, then you cannot. Sorry folks, but we do not make these rules.
- Delivery costs: The costs associated with shipping your product or delivering your service is deductible.
- Entertainment costs: A very tricky deduction! Talk to your accountant.
- Equipment: The cost of maintaining equipment used in your business, whether rented or purchased, may be deductible. (You should consult your accountant on this issue, this gets into the capital improvement versus business expense issue.)
- Facsimile costs: Yes, the cost of faxing is an expense.
- Insurance premiums: Insurance premiums for casualty, inventory, credit, business interruption, overhead payment, vehicle, employee medical, workers' compensation, state unemployment, liability (all different types), and even some types of life insurance on key employees (so long as you are not the beneficiary) are all possible deductions.
- Interest expenses: You know that money you owe the bank? The interest you pay can be deducted, so long as the proceeds from the bank loan were used for business purposes.
- Legal fees: Yes, legal fees arising from managing your business or producing or collecting income are all deductible.
- Licenses: Any license or regulatory fees paid to governments as part of your business are deductible.
- Office supplies: Those staplers, calendars, letter trays, paper reams, etc. are all deductible.
- Postage: Stamps are deductible. Keep your receipts.
- Rent: Yup, rental payments on your business site are deductible.
- Repairs and simple maintenance of business: Again, this is an area where you need to talk to an accountant to make sure you are not deducting a capital expense.
- Subscriptions: just like educational expenses, subscriptions to informative magazines are deductible.
- Travel: Now there are some very particular rules you must follow to get a deduction for travel expenses. So do not think that you are going to convince the IRS that three weeks in the Caribbean was a business trip unless you can prove it. Your accountant can help you sort through the rules, but generally speaking, if you have hotel receipts and car rental receipts from true business trips, you have a deduction. There are also many nondeductible expenses which become deducible when you are on the road (e.g., dry-cleaning), so talk to your accountant about what else you might be able to deduct besides meals, transportation costs, and hotel charges.
- Utilities: Let there be light! And deductions on its cost!
- Wages: Wages paid to employees are deductible. But you really need to consult an accountant if you have employees, do not try to do you own accounting!
Are you prepared? Grab that box of receipts, and contact Synergy Assist today to start taking advantage of all your tax deductions!
Whether you have an established set of books, or haven't even considered doing your accounting, we are here to help.
www.synergyassist.com | 480.233.9410 | kirby@synergyassist.com
Source: Small Biz Deductions. (The Entrepreneurs Help Page).
Retrieved from http://www.tannedfeet.com/small_biz_deductions.htm
Temporary extension of the employee payroll tax break.
What this means:
*Review your next paycheck to ensure the Social Security withholding did not revert back to 6.2%. Companies have until January 31st, 2012 to make this change, and they have until March 31st, 2012 to adjust workers' pay for any implementation delay.
*Don't plan on having this extra money in your wallet throughout the year. The lower tax has only been approved for 60 days into 2012 because there was no consensus on how to pay for the tax.
* Don't plan on loading your pay into the first two months of 2012 to gain a tax advantage. You will receive a 2% additional tax for any income received in excess of $18,350 during January/February.
Special Recognition to NoiseAcct Services, LLC for this valuable information. www.noiseacct.com
Topics and Questions
Let the ideas begin!
GivingTree Rock Block Benefit Concert
Upper Deck Sports Grill
Old Town Scottsdale
5pm - Midnight
Tickets = $25
Includes dinner & concert
Featuring Eric Hutchinson
ALL PROCEEDS BENEFIT CHARITIES: Future for Kids & The V Foundation
Quickbooks 2007 Update
Release 6 is available for manual download and expected to beavailable through the automatic update soon. There are many changes,especially in the Accountant's Copy and payroll areas. For the completelist, click the link below.
For more info http://www.quickbooks.com/support/index/ndxw_16_update.html
Want to Save $35K plus in Administrative Costs this Year?
The average salary cost for a quality full time administrative employee is around $30-$45K per year. Virtual assistants save companies thousands a year by providing the same services on an hourly basis. The best part is that you only pay for the work that is completed, No more paying for wasted office hours. In addition to paying for what you get, you also eliminate the extra overhead costs of hiring a full-time employee such as benefits, taxes, payroll and pensions, as they are responsible for this themselves.
The quality of work that a Virtual Assistant provides you is also higher than that of a full-time employee because they rely on referrals from their clients and get paid based on the result of their work. Full time employees get paid regardless if they are performing to their employers standards or not. Not only is the quality of their work higher, but they possess unlimited resources which allow them to perform a multitude of projects that would normally require you to hire additional staff to accomplish.
Now ask yourself, wouldn't you want to save $35K plus this year?
Get a free consultation and start saving today. Contact Synergy Assist for more information.
NFL Alumni Starts Locksmith Business to Support Valley
I have had the
pleasure of meeting a remarkable person who is able to split his time between his
family, and charity work all while owning his own locksmith business and being
NFL Alumni, none other than Mike Charles!
In 1983 Mike Charles
was the 2nd Draft Pick to the Miami Dolphins after Dan Marino. He
celebrated his 21st birthday by starting his first game in the NFL
for the Miami Dolphins, what a memorable birthday! After retiring from the
Raiders, he was asked back for one more season with Los Angeles Rams.
Once he completed
his football career, he was asked in 1995 to help a friend move to Tucson and
fell in love with Arizona. He decided that Tucson was the place for him to be,
and sold his house back home in Bowie, Maryland over the phone never to return!
He got his first job out of the NFL with a financial company, and then started
a business as an independent cell phone consultant. Due to the downturn of the
economy he decided it was time for a change. He knew there was something out
there that he could really enjoy doing while also creating a valuable service
for the community. His Dad had always
said to him “Have a trade” and while
attending a Cardinal game, he sat next to and met a locksmith. Mike had always
been good with numbers and a very visual person. He loved crosswords, picture
finds and problem solving. “Locks are the most intricate puzzles you can come
across” said Mike. He had found his nitch in life, and therefore opened up All Pro
Locksmith, LLC.
Mike founded All Pro Locksmith, LLC in 2008.
He is License, Insured, Bonded and a member of ILA (Institutional Locksmith of America).
They specialize in commercial buildings, personal and foreclosed properties and
automobiles. His services consist of Lock-outs, Evictions, Master Key Systems,
Mailbox Locks, Installation & Repair of locks and cylinders, Key Duplication,
Sales and Maintenance, Custom Installs and more! What separates him from the
rest is the quality of his customer service. When you call, you will get him
personally! His goal is to hear “Mike, you’re the best!” from every client he
serves. This is not just a job to Mike, he really enjoys doing this line of
work. Even when he was playing football, he LOVED to play and didn’t think of
it as a job, it was time to enjoy himself and have fun.
If you’re looking for a reliable
locksmith that you can trust, look no further!
In addition to his business Mike serves
the community by being on the board for FutureforKIDS, a local non-profit
organization serving at risk children of the valley.
CALL TODAY to see the ALL PRO Locksmith Difference!
Before you pick up the phone....
Scenario:
"RING...RING"....you answer the call to find its one of your important clients. While listening to your client you type up a quick email, finish your research on the internet, and take a bite of your snack.
Virtual Assistants pride themselves on being able to multi-task, however this is one time that we all need to stop and take a breath!
Although people can't see what we are doing on the telephone, it does come across through the one thing they hear all the time, our Voice! Whenever you are a little tired, over worked or in the middle of a deadline it will always be seen in the tone of your voice whether you realize it or not!
We owe it to our clients to make sure each of them get the VIP services we strive to provide. So next time you hear "RING...RING", stop, take a breath, and prepare to give your undivided attention to those that really matter....your clients!
Proud Board Member of FutureforKIDS Non-Profit Charity Organization
FutureforKIDS is dedicated to providing at-risk children education through mentorship and sports programs. Through academics, athletics, and ethics, we build the tomorrows of our community's youngest and most vulnerable. We strive to set an example and provide the tools, education, and skills needed for children to discover and share their unique individualism in the world.
Our Mentorship Program and Youth Sports Camps bring children and mentors together to instill the skills, discipline, and dedication needed to live a healthy and fulfilling life. Our overall goal is to meet the needs of our young participants by providing guidance and life-skills coaching.
Check out more at www.futureforkids.org