2 #TaxTips for the self-employed this week as we head towards 4/15/10!

2. You’re an adult now

When you work as an employee, the company for which you work withholds all required taxes due, and remits them to the appropriate government agency on your behalf. Now that you’re self-employed, you are required to make these payments quarterly on your own. This is where you see first-hand what it means to truly pay taxes in this country!

3. Get organized

Though acting as a bookkeeper can be quite stifling to your right brain creativity, if you don’t accurately track your business income and expenses properly, you may not be able to feed your creative side. Not to mention, your silent partners from #1 (IRS)  like proof that they are getting their fair share

Tax Tip #1

You can’t keep every dime you make

The biggest mistake that a self-employed person can make is to forget that you have some interested, silent partners. These partners consist of the IRS, the state government where you live, the state government where you earn your income, and possibly the local town and/or county that you work and/or reside in, as well. All of these municipalities have a vested interest in your business. Until all your expenses are calculated it’s hard to figure how much you owe. As a rule of thumb for someone starting out assume a federal tax rate of 20%, about 13% for social security taxes (both are paid with your 1040 return) and 7% for state and local taxes. If you don’t share your profits with these interested partners, they won’t stay silent for long!

Financial tip: Put 40% of every dollar you earn into a separate bank account, which you will need to pay your taxes. This will help you to keep your silent partners silent!

Sam is a businessman who built his enterprise the right way. He found a product that consumers needed. He identified and located his business in a prime location. He was among the first to fill this consumer need and his business flourished growing in revenues, employees and accumulating wealth. He reinvested his profits by expanding to more locations which in turn created more jobs, more wealth.

Having been raised by Depression era parents he abhorred debt, his expansion came from profits. The last thing he wanted to do was borrow money to grow his business because should he be wrong, he would have the burden and pressure about repaying a loan while his business struggled.

This conservative fiscal approach slowed his business’s growth. He couldn’t open a new location until he had accumulated enough cash but that was ok as he wanted to be sure that if that location failed he wouldn’t owe anyone and he could walk away.

Soon, Sam had competition as they also discovered the opportunities to have a thriving business as well. He understood and accepted that and continued to focus his energies on servicing his customers. His competition took a different path to growth. Not wanting to wait for their profits to expand, they found bankers willing to lend them the funds for expansion.

Back when I was in college and going through career selection, it was a known fact that those who could not teach gym, went into banking. You see in banking, bankers rush in to lend when the money has already been made and become risk adverse only after they discover their loans have turn to dust.

Now it is bad enough that bankers lack the basic business acumen of a toad, but what compounds and magnifies their impact on the economy is the money spigot that the Federal Reserve sits on. If each bank did not have the Federal Reserve and in turn the American taxpayer to bail out their failures they would be more cautious in their lending decisions.

But that is not how the game is played. It is the Federal Reserve guided by current Chairman Bernanke and his group of five merry men who make decisions as to how much everyone pays to borrow money, how much money is available to lend and who qualifies to get loans.

Six people determine the prosperity for hundreds of millions of people. Not in the light of day are these decisions made, but behind closed doors are billions upon billions of dollars dolled out. Any effort to expose this process, let alone challenge their power, is met with threats of catastrophe for the economy from this autocratic regime.

Back to Sam. This easy money system resulted in not just two more competitors opening up which would have met demand, but instead six opened up. Two were self-funded but the other four competitors only existed because the bankers had all this money to lend and these four businesses had these nice business plans which showed how much money would be made.

One nice by product of all of this excessive expansion, government coffers benefited by increased tax revenues. Unlike Sam, rather than earmarking these extra revenues for a rainy day, politicians the land over instead used these funds to expand government services and employees with wage and benefits exploding.

One direct impact of government involvement was soaring health care costs. Sam operates his business in New Jersey where the legislature has imposed 42 mandates on the health insurers. These mandates are required procedures that must be covered. The impact of all of these guarantees of services, was to drive premiums ever higher.

Sam had no choice but to shift the cost of health insurance to his employees. Public employees don’t share that burden as they enjoy Lamborghini level of benefits where everything is covered including dental benefits. Any thought of a municipal employee having premium co-pay in his bargaining agreement is dropped faster than a Lamborghini goes from 0 to 60 miles per hour.

Moreover, the economic realities had Sam eliminate his pension plan and institute a 401k plan. Let’s not even discuss the pensions offered to government employees after as little as 25 years of service.

All good things must come to an end and two of Sam’s competitors closed their doors. Bankers horrified at the prospect of losing money, began restricting the amount of money they had lent Sam’s other four competitors. Sales fell off as those still employed cut back their spending habits, worried their job is no longer secure.

It can be argued the banks have a case in their new found faith in fiscal prudence. Lending money will not bring back customers, will not improve their financial health, rather it will be throwing good money after bad.

Sam has different issues. He sees opportunity to expand his business because of the demise of his competitors. However, there is great uncertainty of costs in his business. The major cost of running his business is employees. Both House and Senate versions of “health care reform” included tax increases for either businesses or individuals.

Worse, Sam’s business is in New Jersey. Should he decide to build or develop a commercial property and employ at least 16 people, he is then obligated to pay $100,000 to the low income housing fund (COAH) .

Now Sam is up in years and at some point in the next ten years he might want to sell his business. Another problem deterring investing his money is Obama wants to raise the taxes on capital gains. It makes no sense to risk good money in this economy when there is less reward down the line.

To further alert Sam that the government has him in their sights is President Obama’s budget and the many statements he has made on raising taxes for those who make over $250,000 a year.

President Obama’s argument is that he’s only raising rates back to where they were during the Clinton years. A half truth was never better said. Sam lives in New Jersey, during the Clinton years his State tax rate was 3 percent, and today it is nearly 11 percent. Property taxes are 200 – 300 percent higher as well.

How can such an educated man as Obama be so ignorant of economic history? In 1937, just as this nation was clawing itself out of the Great Depression, President Roosevelt raised income taxes which served to drop economic activity and bring about an immediate return of the Depression.

Given we are clearly in the worst economy since the Great Depression and the thought of taking more money out of pockets like Sam is beyond insane. Besides having to contend with higher employee costs, lower revenues, Sam now has the real prospect that next year he will fork over more of his income to the government.

What incentive is there for Sam to expand and grow his business in this environment so that new jobs can be created?

The answer is none and so today we are witnessing the Death of a Capitalist. Sam has a profitable business that is in decline, hamstrung by government policy that rewards failure of the big banks, big auto and big insurance.

All Sam and successful businessmen like him get is the bill for these failures. So Sam hunkers down and waits for a day when an enlightened government will reward risk, allow small businessmen to keep more of their profits so they can grow their businesses once again. Let’s hope that transformation occurs before Sam’s demise.

1)  Be Cautious About Making New Investments — If the economy turns down will the same level of demand exist for your products or services?

2)  Pay Down Debt — In this economy, your goal outside of your mortgage should be to be debt free.

3)  Don’t make emotional financial decisions — Don’t quit your job no matter how much you hate your boss. A bad boss is better than no boss.

Ten years ago when my daughter was nine years old, she like many children of the time were swept up in the beanie baby craze. There were thousands of different beanie babies all having different value. A select few were worth hundreds of dollars such as queenie baby, spice baby, Garcia Bear baby, etc. My wife enjoyed the frenzy as well and participated in this collection madness. She has a zeal for collecting, seeking out garage sales, looking for special sales at Wal-Mart and such. They were so good at gathering that their collection was valued at approximately $2,500.

This is where I tried to step in and bring some economic reality to the situation. I gave my daughter a proposition, if she sold her entire collection on Ebay (they were operating then) for $2500, I would match that and give her $2500. Clearly, beanie babies were a craze and it was only a matter of time before the bubble burst and silly money went elsewhere (like the NASDAQ). She would have had $5,000 at the youthful age of nine and a good start for college spending money.

And as day follows night, the beanie craze ended and the $2500 worth of beanies became worthless. Well, flash forward ten years and my daughter is now in college and the costs are truly staggering. If we had sold those beanies for $2500 and with the $2500 match, she wouldn’t have just $5000 today. Assuming I would have earned 7 percent return each year for ten years, this nest egg would be worth $10,000 today.

Saving money — everybody has their own spin; Stop going to Starbucks, quit smoking, pack a lunch, go out to dinner less. While there is nothing wrong with those suggestions and the like, I have a different approach.

Your pay check is deposited, pay yourself first — before the rent or mortgage, before the car and insurance, you take the first check. Move at least ten percent of it into a money market account, I don’t care how much or little you make this a necessary payment. This money is to go toward big purchases and/or retirement money, items that hopefully will appreciate in value such as a house. I know real estate isn’t so hot now, but prices will be higher at some point. A car is not an investment in case you were wondering. The moment you acquire it, its value declines and if your child should drive it like my nineteen year old daughter, it will decline a lot faster. Another option, of course, to invest your money is the stock market.

The purpose of this money is, it is to be used ONLY for the future (more than seven days). The thinking behind this simple technique is that when one sees money in a spending (checking) account, that money will be spent. By removing money from your checking account, it is gone and what’s left is what you have to spend. Then you can chose how to alter your lifestyle habits such as cutting back on dining out or going to sports events based on what you have left in the kitty.

That is the magic of saving money. When money is saved and left to grow it gets bigger. That is how the rich get richer. They allow their money to be salted away, left untouched. Conversely, when you spend a thousand dollar today it is not just a thousand dollars that is gone. It is $2,000 you won’t have in ten years or $4,000 you’ll be without in 20 years.

Therefore, whatever you’re able to save today can only benefit you tomorrow.

Remember the ’60s (if you can — I know for many folks who lived then it is a blur): in response to growing poverty in the cities, the Johnson Administration commenced a “War on Poverty”. Our nation was going to fix it once and for all. Affordable, quality housing was made a priority. The government began building high rises in the most impoverished areas so our poor people could have decent shelter. These high rises quickly developed an affectionate nickname “The Projects,” which translates to housing hell.

With quiet capitulation, these projects have been returned to rubble… a failed policy costing in the hundreds of billions. Unfortunately, we lost the “War” years ago, but that hasn’t stopped the government from interfering in the marketplace to the point of creating the largest bubble in history — rather like England in World War I, which continually sent its young men into the breach, resulting not only in a lost generation but in the death knell of its empire.

Why was the War on Poverty lost? The government ignored Bill Clinton’s axiom “It’s the Economy Stupid”. Lacking the basic common sense that it is a good, adequately-paying job that drives affordable housing, the government invested tax dollars on the result — adequate housing. One could get into a McMansion, but if he didn’t have a job, he couldn’t stay.

The government ignored the outflow of manufacturing in our cities and the jobs that went with them, failing to provide incentives for businesses to stay and prosper. So after transferring the poor to the projects, there were no jobs to pursue. The blue collar jobs had long dried up.

Now, continuing its policy of history be damned and there is nothing to learn from it, we have the government’s response to the popped housing bubble. Again, ignoring basic economics that someone who makes $50k a year cannot afford to live in a $400k home, the government stubbornly puts out incentives in the hopes of sustaining and even increasing the price of housing when it clearly is priced beyond what people can afford.

Not only is it a failure, but it continues to take savings from the people who could have invested in creating a better job growth environment. And that is the real cost of all these horrendous government programs.

And so with that introduction, I bring you the new and NOT improved Housing Credits program that now applies to existing home buyers as well as first time buyers. If you plan to buy a home in the next few months, I hope you enjoy the bailout. At least you’re getting something for the trillions that have been squandered and wasted.

Highlights

1. Extension of $8,000 homeowners credit

1. New rules on properties that qualify

1. Now, current home owners are eligible if the house sold is less than $800K.

1. Fraud crackdown — the IRS wants proof: demands HUD form, must be at least age 18 to qualify

1. Price Tag and Impact

I. Extension of $8,000 homeowners’ credit

1. First-time home buyers’ credit deadline was set to expire on Nov. 30, now extended to May 1, 2010

1. The legislation defines “first-time home buyers” as anyone who has not owned a principal residence in the three years prior to making the purchase.

II. New rules on properties that qualify

1. Home buyers must have a signed sales contract before May 1, 2010, but they have until the end of June to actually close the transaction.

1. New law raises the annual income limits from $75,000 to $125,000 for singles and from $150,000 to $225,000 for married couples.

III. Current home owners eligible, if

1. Primary residence purchased for less than $800,000

1. They lived in their home for five consecutive years over the previous eight

1. Home was purchased between November 7 and the end of April 2010

1. They signed the sales contract on a home before May 1, 2010, although they have until the end of June to close the sale

1. Income limits for current homeowners are the same as those for first-time home buyers

1. If they use the property as their primary residence for three or more years after the purchase, buyers don’t have to pay the tax credit back

1. Tax credit allowed of up to $6,500 when they purchase their next primary residence.

IV. Fraud crackdown

1. Current Fraud — Treasury Department has identified hundreds of millions of dollars in questionable claims
   1. Taxpayers who claimed the first-time home buyer credit even though they had previously owned residential property within the past three years
   1. Taxpayers who claimed the credit before actually purchasing the home
   1. Hundreds of taxpayers younger than 18 years old — and at least one who was just four — also claimed the credit.

1. New IRS cracks down
   1. Proof of Sale required: copy of HUD-1 Settlement Statement must be submitted to prove that the sale has closed.
   1. No one younger than 18 years can claim the credit.

V. Price Tag and Impact

1. Priceless [?] The cost of the current program is something like $10 billion as of August 22 and the new program is expected to cost another $10 billion.

1. Eligible homeowners include more than two-thirds of current homeowners and nearly all first-time buyers, or 70 percent of current homeowners.

1. Is it the best use of the money? The financial blog Calculated Risk estimates that the February first-time home buyer tax credit cost the government roughly $43,000 for every additional home sale it generated.

1) Don’t buy just because the Prez says so — It’s nice to have $8k if you qualify, but be careful about taking on new debt.

2) First Time home buyers new purchase rules — Signed sales contract on a home before May 1, 2010, but have until the end of June to close the sale.

3) Current home owners can play too, get Tax credit up to $6,500 if — residence purchased for less than $800,000 , lived in their home for five consecutive years over the previous eight, used the property as their primary residence for three or more years after the purchase.

TAX TIPS FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

1) Find a good accountant and hold him accountable- Get referrals, determine if they have experience dealing with your industry, how prompt to respond to your requests, does he deal with you not some recent college grad. If all of your competitors are driving BMWs and you’re puttering about in a Yugo find out who their accountant is.

2) Poor record keeping – everyone is looking for exotic tax deductions. The number one reason businesses do not get the deductions they deserve, next to not having a good accountant, is poor record keeping. Typically, this is due to the business owner assuming these responsibilities. Go sell, invest in a competent bookeeper.

3) Poor exit strategy – when starting a business, plan in advance how much could you afford to lose. Too often like the gambler at the casinos, the owner is doubling down enroute to losing thousands more than he anticipated.

4) Hire a payroll service – spending hours figuring out what to withhold from your employees, risking paying your taxes late incurring penalties is not a good use of your time.

5) Knowing the Sales Tax Rules – Every state has bizarre guidelines for what is and is not taxable. You could be paying sales tax, incurring a 7% -8 % for items in your business unnecessarily.

6) Domestic Manufacturers’ Deduction – If you’re a traditional manufacturer or a software development, architecture, engineering or construction business you may be eligible for a tax deduction that could lower your effective tax rate by up to three percentage points.  There are 247 pages of instructions in the IRS “helpful” manual to explain the code.  Suffice to say that if you’re business is in one of the categories listed above, you may be due additional deductions going back every year to tax year 2005.  Hurry up as you only have until April 15, 2009 to amend the tax returns from 2005.

7) Convert wages to reimbursed expenses for outside salespeople – If employee has legitimate employee expenses i.e. auto travel that he has not been reimbursed for, currently that employee deducts it as a miscellaneous expense. At best the employee reduces his taxes due IRS by 35% of expenses incurred. Meaning the other 65% of money spent by the employee came out of his pocket. If the company paid those expenses, the employee would get 100% back in his pocket. The employer benefits by reducing his employer payroll taxes and workmen’s compensation insurance (costs determined by employee wages).
Ex. Reimburse employee $10,000 for auto travel instead of paying salary. Employer saves $765 in matching employer payroll taxes plus lower workmen’s comp.

Buy a Hummer – In order to write off the purchase of a new SUV (now limited to $25k plus bonus depreciation) it must weigh at least 6,000 pounds. A Hummer weighs 6,001 pounds.

9) Military Employee Tax Credit – allows small business owners with fewer than 50 employees to claim a tax credit of 20 percent of wage differential payments as long as they continue to pay reservists some or all of their former compensation and the payments do not exceed $20,000. This credit is for employers to keep paying these employees while they serve in the military.

10) College tuition can be tax deductible – Code section 127 plans are qualified employer educational assistance plans that allow employers to offer up to $5,250 per year to employees in tax-free educational assistance. Employ your child (must offer to all part time employees) and get a deduction while avoiding paying payroll taxes. Child must be age 21 or higher.