Aug 30 2008
Tax, Tax And More Tax. What A Bummer! Here's How To Handle It.
Tax, Tax And More Tax. What A Bummer! Here's How To Handle It.
When you run a business, it can feel like you spend far too much of your time worrying about tax. Here’s a quick guide to the what you need to know about tax.
What Do You Qualify For?
There are all sorts of tax breaks for home and small businesses, to try and make it easier for them to survive. To qualify for them, though, you will need to be using your home as the primary place where you do business. If most of what you do takes place in some space elsewhere that you rent, then you won’t qualify for home business tax rules. You also are unlikely to qualify if you haven’t set aside a specific part of your home as the ‘business area’. Be prepared for the fact that you might be audited, to make sure that you are running a legitimate business from your home.
Records You Need to Keep.
You need to keep records of everything — literally everything — you spend on your home business. You should especially keep records of things when their use might be shared between personal and business, such any business-related travel expenses you run up on your car. If you have stock, you need to go through and inventory it at least once a month.
What You Can Deduct from Your Home Expenses.
Because your home office is in your home, you can claim any tax back that you pay on that part of the home. You can also claim back tax on part of your utility bills. For example, if your home is 2,000 square feet and you use 100 square feet for your home office, you can claim back 5% of your utilities. If you rent, then you can claim back this percentage of the rent, and if you have bought the house then you can claim it as a discount off your mortgage interest. Any equipment you have that depreciates (becomes worth less) because you use it in your business may also be eligible for a tax deduction.
Self-Employment Taxes.
When you work from home, you are legally self-employed. This can put you in a sticky situation, meaning that you have to pay for medical and other taxes that your employer would normally pay for you. In the US, for example, you will be responsible for your own social security and Medicare payments, while in the UK you will need to pay national insurance.
Get Tax Software.
If you’re not sure where to begin, get some tax software. Choosing your circumstances from its lists and giving any additional information it asks for should show you most of the tax rules that apply to you.
Get an Accountant.
If you want to save as much as you can on your taxes, don’t rely on things you read on the Internet, or even on computer software — get an accountant. They’ll be up-to-date with all the latest tax laws, and will know thousands of tips and tricks that there’s no space to list here. See if you can find one who will take a percentage of what they save you in tax as payment instead of charging a flat fee — this is an ideal solution for you and for them.
Do Your Taxes Online.
Most developed countries now give the option to do your taxes online, eliminating a big paperwork headache. You may even find that your tax software can send its tax report directly to the online service, without you doing much more than clicking a button. Of course, if you do things this way, be sure to call and confirm that everything went through alright.
Don’t Be Late.
Whatever you do with your taxes, you absolutely must not file them late or pay them late. It’s an all-too-easy trap to fall into, but there are automatic fines. Tax collection agencies will look upon you very unfavourably if you pay late, and are likely to start immediately charging interest on any money you owe them. Write your tax dates on your calendar and underline them in red. Twice.
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Merchant Accounts For Restaurant Owners
A merchant account for restaurant owners may be just the thing to help your business grow. If you have experimented with several marketing techniques and feel that you are ready to venture into e-commerce, this might be the venue you need to help your business really take off and start bringing in high-level profits.
Many banks and financial institutions that offer Visa and MasterCard accounts can provide a merchant account for restaurant owners. After building a solid community reputation and maintaining a clean credit history, you will have the credentials you need to apply for a merchant account. Keep in mind that the bank’s underwriters may not feel comfortable conferring this privilege to companies that are involved in questionable activities like pornography, spam, mail drug orders, and so on. Some merchant account providers will let you complete the application online, taking just minutes to fill out.
Your merchant account for restaurant owners could be approved in a matter of hours or days. The company may send a confirming email message or you might receive a letter in the mail. Either way, you probably will not have to wait very long for an answer, and then a few days more and your credit card processor will be installed and ready for use on the premises of your restaurant. If you make home or business deliveries, staff members who transport orders can process credit card payments when you equip them with a portable wireless unit. They won’t have to worry about carrying cash for change or accepting a check that may bounce at the bank.
After receiving a merchant account for restaurant owners, you may decide to put up a restaurant Website for marketing purposes. Your Website can feature attractive photos of inside and outside the restaurant location, along with a map and driving instructions that can be downloaded. The site might include a menu with posted specials as they become available on the schedule. A price list or wine list might be helpful, along with a brief bio of the owner, manager, hostess, or head chef with photos. Food arranging or meal planning tips might be offered weekly to keep customers coming back for the newest postings on your Website, which serves as a marketing tool and a bridge that keeps customers connected to your restaurant when they are not visiting. You may even want to include an occasional discount coupon or free beverage, which will serve as added inducements to keep people coming back. The more comfortable they become with visiting your Website, the more likely they are to place orders and pay online.
Learning to surf the Web as a restaurant owner with a merchant account can be both fun and challenging. You will enjoy the opportunity of presenting your eatery to the world via the Web pages posted at your site and then checking messages and payments to appreciate your impact on the global community. These are some of the attractive benefits of a merchant account for restaurant owners.
Shane Penrod is the founder of Merchant-Acount-Quotes.com Specializing in allowing merchants the ability to shop and compare multiple quotes from national merchant account providers. For free quotes on merchant account rates and fees, please go to <a href="http://www.merchant-account-quotes.com" target="_blank">http://www.merchant-account-quotes.com</a>
Applying For Merchant Services Account The Easy Way
Before applying for a merchant services account, it’s important to research the various merchant account providers to avoid paying too much or signing with an unscrupulous company.
In applying for a merchant account service, consider prices, integrity and customer service.
? Merchant account rates and fees
Be sure you understand all of the rates and fees charged by a merchant account provider. The usual charges include monthly fees, discount rates, transaction fees, application fee, equipment and installation fee.
Monthly fees are usually around $25, though that may vary according on whether you meet your minimum monthly transactions. Discount rates are a percentage taken from a sale that the merchant pays to cover the transaction costs and the risk involved. The usual discount rate is 1.5% to 3.5%.
The transaction fee is a flat fee charged for each transaction, generally anywhere from 20 cents to $1.00. The application fee, if there is one (some merchant account providers don?t charge them), is the fee to open the merchant account.
The equipment and installation fee covers the cost of software installation. It can be free, or it could cost as much as $1,200 or more, depending on whether the processing is batch or real-time. The cost for POS terminals depends on the model you purchase but can range from $500 to $1,500.
? Choose only reputable merchant account services
You should consider the reputation of the merchant account service.
What to look for when searching for a merchant account:
? Beware of merchant service providers who have misleading ads offering things like “free merchant accounts” or “lowest prices guaranteed.” Read the fine print on the website to find out what they really offer.
? It?s a bad sign when every call you make to the company is answered by a machine.
? Beware of merchant account services that make use of free domain or free web hosting services. If they can’t afford a domain name, how are they in business?
? Be careful of providers who can’t answer your questions.
? Avoid merchant account sites that don’t post rates and fees on their web site.
? Use the Internet to find reviews of merchant account companies and take note of all unsatisfactory remarks
? Make absolutely sure that your chosen merchant account service provides reliable customer service.
Stu Pearson has an interest in Business related topics. To access more information on <a href="http://www.infactual.com/category/business/">internet merchant service</a> or on <a href="http://www.infactual.com/2006/06/01/merchant_services2/">merchant card services</a>, please click on the links.
