Happy New Year, SUCKER!

The Fiscal Cliff package passed this week. Rhetoric aside, your payroll taxes and self-employment taxes will most likely increase by 2% of your income. This means that if your business makes $100,000 this year, you’re going to need to send an additional $2,000 to Washington that you didn’t have to send last year. If you have a salary (gross […]

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Minding the fiscal cliff

Warning: many readers may find the contents of the following infographic link graphic and deeply upsetting. Click at your own risk. The Wall Street Journal’s coverage of the Fiscal Cliff has been excellent. To give you an idea of exactly how terrifying the Fiscal Cliff is, check out this infographic.

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The Fiscal Cliff and AMT

Anyone who pays U.S. income taxes ought to be watching the fiscal cliff and AMT talks very carefully. Today’s Wall Street Journal summarizes what’s at stake: All the other tax increases that you hear so much about, such as the “expiring Bush tax cuts” apply to income earned in the future–in 2013. But the AMT is […]

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8 Compelling Reasons for Honest Filing of Business Taxes

Paying your business taxes on time and accurately needs to be one of the top priorities when running your business. Failing to meet your annual or quarterly tax obligations can lead to a number of serious consequences including heavy fines and a tax audit. Working with a professional and experienced accountant can help you keep […]

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Is your eBay business taxable?

Regularly trading items on eBay could be a taxable business, subject to income taxes, but benefiting from many great tax deductions. How do you know if your eBay business is taxable?  If you sometimes buy items, use them, and then occasionally resell them on eBay, then your transactions are like an online Garage Sale – […]

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Setting up your business as a church

Can you set up your business as a church? Before I proceed, however, please reread the fine-print at the bottom of every blog post. And let me summarize what it says: I’m not telling you to break any laws. I’m not teaching you to take advantage of any tax loopholes, or trying to help you […]

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Hire independent contractors, not employees

 Hiring employees is, so (shall we say) 20th Century.  Employees need health care, social security taxes, state unemployment, sick days, pension plan, life insurance, disability, occupational safety, and more.  A well-trained and loyal workforce also creates huge fixed costs which you will have to meet every month before you can post a profit. Therefore, structure […]

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Originally posted on Accountinator:
If your business has been losing a lot of money for a long time, the IRS could call it a hobby and stop you from deducting your losses. Key to avoiding the “hobby” status is that your business earns a profit in three out of the last five years, including the…

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Originally posted on Double Taxation: A Take On All Things Taxes:
Despite driving a truck for a living, Kevin Holloway was confident he knew the ins and outs of the Constitution. And nowhere on that sacred parchment, Holloway would have you believe, is the IRS granted permission to levy and collect income taxes from U.S.…

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Assets vs. Expenses

People often confuse assets with expenses.  This is because both assets and expenses use up your funds – these are things you can spend money on. Assets provide a future benefit to your business.  They help bring in future revenues and profits.  Assets appear on the balance sheet. For example, inventory is an asset. Expenses […]

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