Tax Matters
Wayne has been helping people reduce their taxes for the past 20 years. He provides a complete line of bookkeeping, accounting, payroll and tax preparation services for all business types and is the author of 3 tax-slashing ebooks for small business owners and the self-employed, including the Ultimate Small Business Tax Reduction Guide.
If you are self-employed and use your vehicle for business purposes, you have two options for taking a deduction for use of that vehicle: Option #1 is known as the Actual Expense Method. You write off the actual expenses such as gasoline, repairs, maintenance, insurance and depreciation. Option #2 is called the Mileage Rate Method, [...]
Are you self-employed and wondering whether you should form a limited liability company (LLC) for your small business? Before you take the plunge, read on to make sure you understand the difference between these two business entity types. A sole proprietorship is an unincorporated business owned by one person. Other common synonyms for a sole [...]
If you’re a small business owner or self-employed person, you are probably well aware of the annual requirement to file an income tax return. In addition, if you made certain payments to sole proprietors in the course of your business, you may also be required to issue information returns. Read on to find out if this [...]
Every year we hear what sounds like good news: the IRS makes an announcement that the standard deduction and personal exemption amounts for the following year have increased due to an inflation adjustment. And this year was no exception, as we recently got word that the 2012 amounts have gone up. Gee, aren’t you excited? [...]
With the year-end payroll filing season right around the corner, if you own a small business and are paying people who perform services for you, it is critical that you understand the difference between Form W-2 and Form 1099-MISC. Form W-2 is issued to employees at the end of the year. You must give each [...]
Do you own a small business and pay workers to perform services for you? If so, are you wondering whether it matters whether you give them a W-2 or a 1099-MISC? Read on to find out. The short answer to this question is simple: It matters a lot. And there’s a lot at stake here, so do [...]
If you’re self-employed (i.e. you’re a sole proprietor and file Schedule C), are you wondering how much federal income tax you may have to pay this year? Now that the year is winding down, this is a good time to address this issue. If you have a loss in your small business, you’ll pay zero federal income tax. By a [...]
Do you own a limited liability company (LLC) and need to know how your income from the business will be taxed? Read on to find out. A limited liability company is the chameleon of business entities. Believe it or not, there is no LLC-specific federal income tax return. But that does not mean your business [...]
If you’re a small business owner or self-employed person, what do you do if you have little or no income this year, along with substantial expenses? Do you have to report and deduct those expenses in the year in which they are or paid or incurred? Or can you wait until next year, when you [...]
Did you file an extension for your 2010 personal income tax return back in April? If so, here’s some good news for you – you have a few extra days to procrastinate! Read on for details. Normally, by filing Form 4868 by April 15, you get an automatic six-month extension of time to file your [...]
