Month: April 2011

  • Tax Deductibles for Internet Marketers

    Just like any group of freelancers or workers who run their own businesses, one of the advantages of being an internet marketer is that there are quite a number of expenses and deductions that you can claim when it comes to filling in your tax return. There are of course a number of items specific to your particular business that you will be able to claim and these should be discussed with your accountant. But there are certain areas that every one who works freelance and online will equally be able to claim as a legitimate part of their business expense and some of the more common areas will be outlined here in this article.

    The first and most important thing to note is that no matter what it is you are going to claim for you will need to keep records of each and every transaction and keep hold of all your receipts. If it is for a piece of online software or a hosting account, print it off and file it for later. This will save you a massive effort and printing session when it comes time to do your taxes!

    Secondly, no matter if your entire business is online, the first place to look for expenses is the physical space of your home or office.  If you work from home, add up what percentage of your home is dedicated to conducting your business. You will then be able to claim this back as a percentage of your rental or mortgage payments. In addition, any expense related to the running of that premises for the purposes of business will also be deductible This includes the cost of utilities such as electricity and phone, as well as anything to do with the maintenance of the property for business purposes. Your computer is essential business equipment so this should be deducted too. This also applies to the furniture surrounding that computer, so keep receipts for the desk, chair, monitors and printers and anything else you use in the office.

    Once you have taken care of the physical space of your business, you should look at deductions for the virtual space. Obviously, just like electricity and phone, you can claim for your broadband service. Your website (or for most internet marketers your multiple websites) are also rented space so you can claim for their domain name purchase, their hosting accounts and any maintenance or site add-on’s you might get from your hosting provider. Any support calls will also be deductible. After that, think about any plugins or scripts, software or ebooks you might have purchased for the business – most of them will be deductible. Most importantly, think about any outsourcing you might have done, from backlinks to paid articles, design work to a virtual assistant. All of these expenses can be reclaimed.

    Lastly, think about your advertising. Did you spend any money on adwords or Facebook ads, or even put an advert in a trade publication or website? All of these can be fully reclaimed.

    Remember, there’s no point in not claiming. Through use of a good accountant and a bit of discipline each time you make a payment through the year, you could find that when it comes time to pay your taxes, you have significantly reduced your arrears.

    Alex Simmonds is a journalist and blogger. He currently writes a blog about the contracting sector covering everything from contractor mortgages to payday loans.

  • Finding A Quality CPA In Ohio

    Looking For an Ohio CPA?

    When looking for a CPA in Ohio there are many things that you will want to consider before making your final decision.

    The first thing to consider in your CPA is word of mouth advertising. If there is a CPA that someone you know is currently recommending you will want to discuss what type of work that they had done and how satisfied they were with the work that the CPA did for them.  That way, you can be confident that will do a good job for you too.

    Also, you should check the Ohio AICPA to be sure they have current registration and really are a CPA.

    If you have no friends, co-workers or family that has used a CPA in the past you may turn to the telephone book to see what one of the ads looks like for one there.

    Once you have found a couple ads that look appealing in the phone book you will want to make a call to the CPA office and have a chat with them over the phone. Some questions that you may want to ask include the following:

    1. What they offer?
    2. How busy are they, is it going to take a long time to get an appointment there?
    3. How much they will be charging you for their service?
    4. What kind of tax returns do they do?
    5. How long have they been in business?
    Overall the process shouldn’t take long to find a qualified CPA that will assist you with your Federal and State tax returns. There are many quality CPA’s in Ohio that will be able to do your return. From Cleveland to Cincinnati, if you do proper research you should not have to pay an arm and a leg for a good accountant that will do a great job.
  • Reducing your IRS tax debt – A step towards fiscal freedom

    Knowing as well as learning the ways of reducing your IRS tax debts is the only possible solution to the nerve-wracking problem. According to resent studies, it has been seen that the huge number of IRS tax defaults is due to lack of awareness than the negligence on the part of the actual tax-payers. Most people in the US do not have any inkling ways to seek IRS tax debt relief and this ignorance builds up their fearfulness that leads them into incurring more and more debt. If you too have missed your payments on your taxes and you’re not aware of the ways in which you can pay them off, here’s help for you. Have a look at the ways in which you can tackle your IRS tax debts.

    Guaranteed installment agreement: If you want to make sure that you’re soon free of IRS tax debts, you can negotiate a guaranteed installment agreement with the IRS. However, you can only seek help of this option if you have dues that range above $10,000 or less. You also need to meet some more criteria like all your tax returns must be filed and the monthly installments will pay off your balance within 36 months. You also need to agree that you will pay your tax debts regularly in the near future. The biggest benefit that you can reap off the guaranteed installment agreement, you will not require filing federal tax lien. Tax liens can easily hurt your credit score, if reported.

    Streamlined installment agreements: You can talk to the IRS about your financial hardship and then you may negotiate a streamlined installment agreement if the balance that you owe amounts to $25,000 or less. You need to agree that you will repay the balance within a span of 60 months. The minimum balance that the IRS will accept is the total amount owed (including the penalties and fees) divided by fifty. All your tax returns must be filed and you must agree to file your tax debts on time.

    Offer-in-compromise: If you think that your present monthly income is not enough to suffice the huge amount of tax debt that you own, you can go for offer-in-compromise option. If you file an offer-in-compromise, you can offer to pay an amount that is lesser than what you actually owe your creditors. As you file your request with the IRS, they will check whether or not you are actually liable to pay off your tax debt. By opting for this debt repayment method, you can save your dollars and use it in paying off your other obligations.

    Nothing can be worse than getting drowned in an ocean of tax debt. If you’re up to your eyeballs in IRS tax debt and you are looking for tax debt relief options, you can follow the points mentioned above. Pay off your taxes and lead a free of all debt obligations.

    Jenney Roberts is a contributory writer of Debt Consolidation Care. She is a financial writer and has specialization in financial problems and its solutions. She holds her expertise in the Finance industry and has made significant contributions on debt consolidation, savings, planning, frugality, debt settlement etc.