Business Funding - Factoring Your Way Out of Debt

Factoring is the transaction of turning your Invoices into working capital within days or hours after you Invoice a client.  It is one of the best ways to create working capital, without incurring debt.

It simple, easy and fairly safe.  In most cases the Lender takes the risk.  And they are experts at knowing who to factor and who not to touch. 

Online it appears that Lenders are a dime a dozen, however, this is not true.  There are a certain number of brokers who have their own corporation and refer business owners to Lenders.  Then there are those of us, who do not charge a fee for our services and we place you with a reputable Lender within hours, at no cost to you.

We know who can purchase your Invoices within 48 hours and and low rates.  We know which Lenders work well with Government Invoices as well as Corporate, State and Utility Invoices.  In order words, we know where the money is, how much it cost, and what you need to do to get funded, based on your industry, location and amount of Invoices, and most importantly, who your customer is.

Factoring or Accounts Receivable Financing is based on your customers credit, not yours.  And that is another reason that factoring is so popular amount a select few.  Usually the Lenders will say, "No Financials Required"  - this means no credit scores!  It's like a business loan, and your Invoices are held as collateral 

Those who have factored off and on over the years, understand that the fees that the Lender charges them for "money" is 100 per cent tax deductible.  So at the end of the year, the Department of Treasury helps to underwrite the cost of you creating working capital in order for your business to grow.

Often times, the companies who are factoring, have excellent credit and they keep it that way by paying cost immediately and getting discounts.  They understand that some times cash flow get a little tight, especially when the vendor's payment is late and payday is at the end of the week.

Accounts Receivable Financing helps to eliminate the problem, and allow the company to grow without feeling the growing pains. 

To learn more about how a Lender can reduce your cash flow concerns, visit: http://taxeswilltravel.com/Application.htm and complete the six question app/  We will locate you a suitable Lender.

Offer in Compromise, Do You Qualify? Read Before You Pay $5000 for an OIC

We have prepared a short summary, of people who may or may not qualify for an Offer in Compromise.  However, taxpayers should know that only the IRS can and will make the final decision, based upon your particular situation.  Experienced Enrolled Agents and Tax Attorneys can be extremely helpful in helping a tax payer to know if they may qualify for an OIC.   To view a general summary concerning an OIC visit: http://www.taxeswilltravel.com/how-to-prepare-offer-in-compromise.htm -

Take your time read the 12 points concerning OIC and know that if you are interested in filing an Offer in Compromise, you will need to have FILED ALL OF YOUR PASS DUE TAX RETURNS.

(Special Note:  If you can qualify for a Hardship Status with the IRS, then you may be able to qualify, and want to consider an OIC, due to continued interest. 

When a tax payer owes the IRS $25,000 and they pay a company $5000 to make the bill go away, we are sure the IRS looks at this unfavorably.  To our knowledge, they have never said anything, but you have to wonder if the IRS is thinking, that the taxpayer could have made arrangement with the IRS, paid the $5000 to the Department of the Treasury and possibly gotten the balance wiped out?  If in this case the taxpayer doesn’t qualify for the OIC, because of assets, then the IRS just sends a “form” letter which says “NO.”

Come on people, the IRS knows exactly how much you have to pay certain companies for IRS Offer in Compromises, if you were in their shoes, would you not think the same thing?

AMT Tax - You No Longer Have to be Wealthy to Get Hit, With the Alternative Minimum Tax

 

AMT tax law gives special treatment to some kinds of income and allows special deductions and credits for some kinds of expenses.

Taxpayers, who benefit from certain tax laws, may have a minimum amount of tax added, through the alternative minimum tax (AMT) You may have to pay the AMT if your taxable income for regular taxes combined with certain adjustments and tax preference items is more than a certain amount.

The most common adjustments and tax preference which can trigger the AMT tax include:

·        Addition of personal exemptions

·        Addition of the standard deduction (if claimed)

·        Addition of itemized deductions claimed for state and local taxes, certain interest, most miscellaneous deductions, and part of medical expenses

·        Subtraction of any refund of state and local taxes included in grass income

·        Changes to accelerated depreciation of certain property

·        Difference between gain or loss on the sale of property reported for regular tax purposes and ATM purposes

·        Addition of certain income from incentive stock options

·        Change in certain passive activity loss deductions

·        Addition of certain depletion that is more than the adjustment bases of the property

·        Addition of part of the deduction for certain intangible drilling costs

·        Addition of tax-exempt interest on certain private activity bonds

The exemption amount is $48,450 ($74,450 if married filing jointly, or qualifying widow(er); $37,225 if married filing separately.  Meaning, the AMT Tax is no longer just for the wealthy tax payers.  Everyday day, hard working taxpayers can trigger this tax, unknowingly.  (This tax law could change for 2012)

To learn more about the AMT tax, read the Instructions for Form 6251 or speak with your Tax Professional

Interesting IRS Deductions, Which Many People Overlook

Interesting IRS Tax Laws

If you have been, or are:

·        Blackmailed

·        Burglarized

·        Have money embezzled from you

·        Have money extorted from you

·        Are kidnapped for ransom

·        Larceny

·        Robbery

ALL of the above occurrences, are tax deductible.

Publication 17 (2011)

The DNA of a President, by Sandy Ingram

The country voted him in, now some want to vote him out.  It might be a good idea to understand exactly what you did or did not do, as a voter, before your make a decision on your next move.  Clearly the US News has not told the entire truth about the 43^rd President.

However, if you plan on being an “informed voter” you may want to read a little more about the DNA of the 43^rd President.  In fact the report which can be found on Amazon is named just that.  “The DNA of a President”

Learn more. Visit Amazon : http://www.amazon.com/The-DNA-President-ebook/dp/B0081CRVTM

A Little Secret on How Attorneys Get Rich

While studying for the new tax exam that tax professionals have to pass, by law, I ran across this interesting example in my studies:

Example 1.  You are a self-employed lawyer.  As payment for your services, you receive shares of stock in the corporation.  You must include the fair market value of the shares in your income.  True or False.

The correct answer is True.

Thirty one Tax Credits for Business Owners, Lower Taxes By Using These Tax Loopholes

Below are all the Business Tax Credits for 2011 - There may be some changes for 2012, however this list of credits will enable small business owners with the ability to use the credits to their tax advantage: (These tax credits related directly to Form 1040 - Schedule C)

1. Agricultural chemicals security credit (Form 8931). This credit applies to qualified agricultural chemical security expenses paid or incurred by eligible agricultural businesses. For more information, see Form 8931.

2.  Alcohol and cellulosic biofuel fuels credit (Form 6478). This credit consists of the alcohol mixture credit, alcohol credit, small ethanol producer credit, and cellulosic biofuel producer credit. For more information, see Form 6478.

3.  Alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit (Form 8911). This credit applies to the cost of any qualified fuel vehicle refueling property you placed in service. For more information, see Form 8911.

4.  Alternative motor vehicle credit (Form 8910). This credit consists of the following credits for certain vehicles you placed in service. For more information, see Form 8910.

• Qualified fuel cell motor vehicle credit.
  
• Advanced lean burn technology motor vehicle credit.
  
• Qualified hybrid motor vehicle credit.
  
• Qualified alternative fuel motor vehicle credit.
  
• Qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle conversion credit.
  

5.  Bio diesel and renewable diesel fuels credit (Form 8864). This credit applies to certain fuel sold or used in your business. For more information, see Form 8864.

6.  Carbon dioxide sequestration credit (Form 8933). This credit is for carbon dioxide which is captured at a qualified facility and disposed of in a secure geological storage or used in a qualified enhanced oil or natural gas recovery project. For more information, see Form 8933.

7.  Credit for employer social security and Medicare taxes paid on certain employee tips (Form 8846). This credit is generally equal to your (employer's) portion of social security and Medicare taxes paid on tips received by employees of your food and beverage establishment where tipping is customary. The credit applies regardless of whether the food is consumed on or off your business premises. For more information, see Form 8846.

8.  Credit for employer differential wage payments (Form 8932). This credit provides certain small businesses with an incentive to continue to pay wages to an employee performing services on active duty in the uniformed services of the United States for a period of more than 30 days. For more information, see Form 8932.

9.  Credit for employer-provided childcare facilities and services (Form 8882). This credit applies to the qualified expenses you paid for employee childcare and qualified expenses you paid for childcare resource and referral services. For more information, see Form 8882.

10.  Credit for increasing research activities (Form 6765). This credit is designed to encourage businesses to increase the amounts they spend on research and experimental activities, including energy research. For more information, see Form 6765.

11.  Credit for small employer health insurance premiums (Form 8941). This credit applies to the cost of certain health insurance coverage you provide to certain employees. For more information, see Form 8941.

12.  Credit for small employer pension plan startup costs (Form 8881). This credit applies to pension plan startup costs of a new qualified defined benefit or defined contribution plan (including a 401(k) plan), SIMPLE plan, or simplified employee pension. For more information, see Publication 560, Retirement Plans for Small Business (SEP, Simple, and Qualified Plans).

13.  Disabled access credit (Form 8826). This credit is a nonrefundable tax credit for an eligible small business that pays or incurs expenses to provide access to persons who have disabilities. You must pay or incur the expenses to enable your business to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. For more information, see Form 8826.

14.  Distilled spirits credit (Form 8906). This credit is available to distillers and importers of distilled spirits and eligible wholesalers of distilled spirits. For more information, see Form 8906.

15.  Empowerment zone and renewal community employment credit (Form 8844). You may qualify for this credit if you have employees and are engaged in a business in an empowerment zone for which the credit is available. For more information, see Form 8844.

16.  Energy efficient appliance credit (Form 8909). This credit is available for manufacturers of eligible appliances. For more information, see Form 8909.

17.  Energy efficient home credit (Form 8908). This credit is available for eligible contractors of certain homes sold for use as a residence. For more information, see Form 8908.

18.  Indian employment credit (Form 8845). This credit applies to qualified wages and health insurance costs you paid or incurred for qualified employees. For more information, see Form 8845.

19.  Investment credit (Form 3468). The investment credit is the total of the following credits. For more information, see Form 3468.

• Rehabilitation credit.
• Energy credit.
• Qualifying advanced coal project credit.
• Qualifying gasification project credit.
• Qualifying advanced energy project credit.
• Qualifying therapeutic discovery project credit.

20.  Low sulfur diesel fuel production credit (Form 8896). This credit is for the production of low sulfur diesel fuel by a qualified small business. For more information, see Form 8896.

21.  Low-income housing credit (Form 8586). This credit generally applies to each new qualified low-income building placed in service after 1986. For more information, see Form 8586.

22.  Mine rescue team training credit (Form 8923). This credit applies to training program costs you pay or incur for certain mine rescue team employees. For more information, see Form 8923.

23.  New hire retention credit (Form 5884-B). This credit may apply if you hired an employee after February 3, 2010, and before January 1, 2011, and the employee works for you for at least 52 consecutive weeks. For more information, see Form 5884-B.

24.  New markets credit (Form 8874). This credit is for qualified equity investments made in qualified community development entities. For more information, see Form 8874.

25.  Nonconventional source fuel credit (Form 8907). This credit is for qualified coke and coke gas you produced and sold to an unrelated person during the tax year. For more information, see Form 8907.

26.  Orphan drug credit (Form 8820). This credit applies to qualified expenses incurred in testing certain drugs for rare diseases and conditions. For more information, see Form 8820.

27.   Qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle credit (Form 8936). This credit is for new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles placed in service during the tax year. For more information, including information on what is considered as a qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle, see Form 8936.

28.  Qualified plug-in electric vehicle credit (Form 8834, Part I only). This portion of the credit is for certain qualified plug-in electric vehicles. See Form 8834 for more information, including information on what is considered as a qualified plug-in electric vehicle.

29.  Qualified railroad track maintenance credit (Form 8900). This credit applies with respect to qualified railroad track maintenance expenditures paid or incurred during the tax year. For more information, see Form 8900.

30.  Renewable electricity, refined coal, and Indian coal production credit (Form 8835). This credit is for the sale of electricity, refined coal, or Indian coal produced in the United States or U.S. possessions from qualified energy resources at a qualified facility. For more information, see Form 8835.

31.  Work opportunity credit (Form 5884). This credit provides businesses with an incentive to hire individuals from targeted groups that have a particularly high unemployment rate or other special employment needs. For more information, see Form 5884.

The above list is 31 ways to legally pad your small business tax return.  The U.S. Gov has explained in black and white what is important to them.  When you align a certain number of your goals with their goals, they will reward you handsomely, by providing you with the opportunity (in most cases) to subtract the credits directly from your tax.

IRS Tax Video Makes Tax Preparation Easier

If you are having trouble understand the IRS tax code when preparing your tax return, you can get the most important tax information in the form of videos.  Visit http://www.youtube.com/IRSVideos and search IRS videos for your topic of interest.

These videos are easy to understand and will help make your tax preparation easier.

Tax Loophole Number Uno

Installment Sales is a major tax loophole which comes under “deferment” of income.

Deferment of Income is one of the major ways to control, lower and legally avoid huge tax liabilities, during any one year.  When you can arrange your finances to “defer income” you are on your way to playing with the big boys when it comes to controlling the amount of taxes owed.

The name of the biggest tax loophole, in which major taxpayers participate, is the “deferment of income.”  Learn it, understand it, use it.

Job Search Expenses Can Be Tax Deductible, Even if You Happen to Be Searching for Work in Las Vegas!

The IRS wants to remind you that the cost for searching for a job may be tax deductible.  The word "may be" is included because there are some conditions which do apply.  You have to be searching for a job in your current field of employment.  The IRS is willing to help you foot the cost of finding a job in your same industry, but unwilling to help you cross over into another job industry!

Summertime is the season that often leads to major life decisions, such as buying a home, moving or a job change. If you are looking for a new job that is in the same line of work, you may be able to deduct some of your job hunting expenses on your federal income tax return.

Here are seven things the IRS wants you to know about deducting costs related to your job search:

1. To qualify for a deduction, your expenses must be spent on a job search in your current occupation. You may not deduct expenses you incur while looking for a job in a new occupation.

2. You can deduct employment and outplacement agency fees you pay while looking for a job in your present occupation. If your employer pays you back in a later year for employment agency fees, you must include the amount you received in your gross income, up to the amount of your tax benefit in the earlier year.

3. You can deduct amounts you spend for preparing and mailing copies of your résumé to prospective employers as long as you are looking for a new job in your present occupation.

4. If you travel to look for a new job in your present occupation, you may be able to deduct travel expenses to and from the area to which you travelled. You can only deduct the travel expenses if the trip is primarily to look for a new job. The amount of time you spend on personal activity unrelated to your job search compared to the amount of time you spend looking for work is important in determining whether the trip is primarily personal or is primarily to look for a new job.

5. You cannot deduct your job search expenses if there was a substantial break between the end of your last job and the time you begin looking for a new one.

6. You cannot deduct job search expenses if you are looking for a job for the first time.

7. The amount of job search expenses that you can claim is limited. To determine your deduction, use Schedule A, Itemized Deductions. Job search expenses are claimed as a miscellaneous itemized deduction and the total of all miscellaneous deductions must be more than two percent of your adjusted gross income.

Our unofficial and confidential suggestion:  If life has become a little over bearing, and you need a break, go ahead and travel to Las Vegas.  Just make sure you apply for four or five jobs, while you  are in Las Vegas.  That way, at least you have a chance of getting a write off for your trip to Las Vegas, as long as you content that your primary reason for visiting Las Vegas was to look for work!

Need a Job? Freelancing, No Fee. How to Get Clients When You Are First Starting

Elance.com  is one of the largest freelancing sits on the Internet. A lot of large companies post their projects on Elance.com. The freelancers provide companies with bids, and companies select from a wide range of freelancers.  There are close to 1,000,000 freelancers on Elance.com

Guru.com is another large freelancing site, with more than 1,000,000 freelancers. Guru.com also has both free and premium memberships based on categories of work which you’re willing to do.

oDesk.com is easy to use and very  popular. There are both hourly and fixed rate jobs.  Hourly jobs are guaranteed and use the latest software to gage a freelancer’s time.  oDesk.com charges 10% of your final payment.  There is no fee to set up an account and to start working.

GAF, which stands for Get a Freelancer.com  has both paid and non paid plans for freelancers.   Be sure to become a verified user.  The site is based in Australia and has well over 1,000,000 verified users.  GAF is one of my favorites, view jobs here to see why.

Just For Fun

Well some people may say Fiverr.com is just for fun, however, there is some serious money exchanging hands over at Fiverr.com.  People I work with earn anywhere from $500 to $800 USD, and most of them live offshore.  What happens is: “the tips” when freelancers do an excellent job, small business owners tip them well.

Almost Free

ifreelance.com Another great freelancing website to visit. This is a very good site for beginners. Jobs are regular but this is fully membership based site, membership starts at $4.69/month.  It may be worth it to pay a small membership fee.  Site is easy to use.

10    Reasons Why You May Want to Consider Freelancing

 1.   Your unemployment is about to run out.  You have been looking for work, but no one is responding to your resume.  Setting a time aside to look for work, until you are too busy with your freelancing jobs, is a doable plan.

 2.   You need money, as of yesterday.

3.   If you get more rejection interview, you will lose it

4.   You have gifted talents which you can market and provide, online. Also creating an affordable service for small business owners in your area, is a profitable idea, which requires very little start up cost.

5.   You have the patients, of Job (If you don’t know who Job is, that’s OK.)

6.   It’s doesn’t bother you to always “allow the client to be right”

7.   You are on your computer all the time anyway, might as well earn some money.

8.   You don’t mind waking up and finding out that, lots of things, online, has changed over night!

9.   You have sold everything you could find, on eBay, and you want to continue earning money

10.   You are self-directed and self-motivated.

Important Tip: 

When just starting out in freelancing, and you want to impress potential clients, even when you have no feedback on the freelance site, you can upload examples of your work so potential clients can see your work.  Let them know in the bid that you are new to the site, and you have experience.  If the freelance site allows, direct potential clients to view “a sample” of your work, on your site, if not learn how to place an image in your profile.

For example, I am a SEO person (search engine optimization) so I built a site where I could show off my SEO skills:  www.t360travelclassifieds.com  Well it backfired, but in a good way.  So, after you find that high paying job, or start to freelance, you will need a break.  You can find discounted travel, coupons, promos and travel deals at www.t360travelclassifieds.com

Sandy

T360Travel Classifieds

The "Other" Way to Legally Avoid Paying Millions in Taxes

I found this article on AOL, and placed it on the blog for one reason.  This is the "other" way people are avoiding millions in U.S. taxes.  Be aware, Congress wants to close this loophole.  What are your thoughts?

------------

July 9 (Reuters) - Denise Rich, the wealthy socialite and former wife of pardoned billionaire trader Marc Rich, has given up her U.S. citizenship - and, with it, much of her U.S. tax bill.

Rich, 68, a Grammy-nominated songwriter and glossy figure in Democratic and European royalty circles, renounced her American passport in November, according to her lawyer.

Her maiden name, Denise Eisenberg, appeared in the Federal Register on April 30 in a quarterly list of Americans who renounced their U.S. citizenship and permanent residents who handed in their green cards. ()

By dumping her U.S. passport, Rich likely will save tens of millions of dollars or more in U.S. taxes over the long haul, tax lawyers say.

Rich, who wrote songs recorded by Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige and Jessica Simpson, is the latest bold-faced name to join a wave of wealthy people renouncing their American citizenship. Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin gave up his U.S. passport to become a citizen of Singapore, an offshore tax haven, before the company's initial public offering in May.

Nearly 1,800 citizens and permanent residents, a record since data was first compiled in 1998, expatriated last year, according to government figures.

Rich, who was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, has Austrian citizenship through her deceased father, said Michael Heidt, a lawyer in Hollywood, Florida, who represented her in a recent lawsuit.

He said Rich had dumped her U.S. passport "so that she can be closer to her family and to Peter Cervinka, her long-time partner." Rich's two daughters live in London; Cervinka, a wealthy property developer, is an Austrian national. Rich plans to make London her main residence and does not intend to acquire other passports, Heidt said.

How Hundreds of Thousands of Taxpayers Miss Out on Money Owed to Them

 Even if you do NOT have to file a tax return, you should file a Federal tax return to get money back if ANY of the following conditions apply.

1.      You had federal income tax withheld or mad estimated tax payment

2.      You qualify for the earned income credit (have children and a low income- this credit can be worth an average of $2500)

3.      You qualify for the additional child tax credit.

4.      You qualify for the health coverage tax credit

5.      You qualify for the refundable credit for prior year minimum tax.

6.      You qualify for the first-time homebuyer credit

7.      You qualify for the American opportunity credit

8.      You qualify for the credit for federal tax on fuels

9.      You qualify for the adoption credit

You have a three year window in which you can still file a return and receive a refund.  If you have questions, contact us.

Tax Loophole, Reduce Tax Liability on Large Amount of Reportable Income

If Income Deferment is not your thing, then you may want to review the following method of reducing taxes, however the limit is only $25,000.  If you need a larger deduction, contact a Financial Planner and learn more about "income deferment"

One way to reduce the tax liability of a large amount of income is to purchase a large apartment complex. 

Why?  Take a look at Schedule E.  This would be the Form you would report Rental Income on.

This form is loaded with ongoing deductions for rental property.  And the largest deduction could be the depreciation of the property, over a 20 or 30 year period of time, and the mortgage interest.

Of course, you would want to put a down-payment on the property, however, you do not want to pay cash for the property, at least not up front.  The mortgage interest for the property will go a long way in helping you to reduce your tax liability.

The are down sides to this loophole, which you will want to discuss with your tax attorney or enrolled agent.  When you sell this type of property you are looking at capital gains taxes.  Flipping this type of property is unlike flipping a house and living there for two years, to avoid capital gains taxes.
 
Not to worry if you don't want to manage the rental property (and you shouldn't) all fees for management are tax deductible.  Every time you start your auto for the benefit of the rental property, these miles are tax deductible.  If you should have a positive cash flow, the tax deductions should help you offset your total income.

You can take up to a $25,000 loss on the property.  You should have your tax professional work up your expected tax liability, to ensure that you can benefit from making such a purchase.  You will need a trusting real estate broker, an  experienced tax attorney or enrolled agent, and a good property management company to put this idea off.

You will need to learn the rental laws of the state, where the property is located, and most of all you will need to make sure you purchase the property at the right price.

Now for the grand, or not so grand way, U.S. Taxpayers are avoiding millions in taxes.  Let us know what you think?