When you say “end of the year”, most small business owners think of two things immediately. The *second* is the holidays. The *first* is taxes! While almost all of us pay taxes quarterly, we still have to file in January. That means November and December are spent getting ready. When you’re gathering all your information together for your accountant, don’t forget about these regularly overlooked deductions.

Mileage

Sure, most of us already know that we can deduct a mileage allowance from our taxes. However, many of us (especially dot coms who don’t travel much) don’t bother to keep track of our travels thinking it won’t be worth the trouble. Oh, but it is!

I had the same mind-set, but – at the urging of my accountant – decided to keep track and see for myself. I’ll never neglect to do it again! Even though almost every place that I travel is nearby, when I added up all the 10-mile trips to the office supply store, the bank, etc., it turned out to be a hefty total. Haven’t kept track this year? Start now.

Go back and look for deposits in your check register. This would have meant you traveled to the bank on that date… write it down. Do you have receipts from the office supply store? You must have traveled on that day, too. Write that down. Keep all your information on a log sheet with the date, number of miles traveled round trip, and the purpose of the drive (i.e., office supply store, bank deposit, etc.). You’ll be pleased to find that even short, weekly trips all throughout the year can add up to 800 – 1,000 miles or more. Multiply that times the 2002 allowance of 36.5 cents per mile and you get a $292 – $365 tax deduction!

Bad Debt

Did you sell products or services to someone who did not pay you? Have you tried to collect the money without success? You can write those losses off and get a deduction for them. No, it won’t equal the total amount of the money you lost, but it is better than nothing.

Simply gather the information about the sale, the invoice you submitted to the customer, and documentation of your attempts to collect the amount owed. You do not have to file bad debt deductions in the same year they occurred, so if you have old losses, gather the information now so you can include it on your 2002 return.

Travel

Almost any trip can become a business trip if you plan it right. Even if you’re traveling to your 20-year high school reunion, you can write off your travel expenses IF you play your cards right.

While mingling with your old chums, collect some business cards, and hand out a few of your own. Ask people what they do for a living (in tax talk that relates to “market research”), and set up a phone call or two for when you return home.

I know one woman who took a pleasure trip to England. However, while she was there, she took tons of pictures of museums, landscapes, etc. She gathered brochures and picked up some information from a few local vendors. She used these things to justify her trip as business travel for her set design (theater) company.

No, you don’t have to spend the entire trip talking/doing business. Just be able to document that you did some business while you were there. You can also take deductions for lodging and meals while you’re on your trip so save your receipts!

As you can see, there are many tax deductions available to you. To find out about more, set up a “pre-tax” appointment with your accountant or tax pro. They can give you information on additional tax deductions that might apply to your particular industry. When you add up all the small stuff, you can end up with some major tax savings!

Copyright 2004 Diane Hughes

With the new year fastly approaching alot of us are looking to make those crucial new years resolutions. Among those resolutions alot of us find some of the same ‘resolutions’ as years past. Such as lose weight, save money, make more money, quit smoking etc…

Let’s take a look at the finance aspect of our resolutions. Here are few ideas to start saving some money to help you on your way to financial relief.

Well, if you’re anything like I used to be you get to the end of the month and the cupboard – or the bank account in this case – is bare…if you’re lucky you just have enough to meet your monthly bills but you certainly don’t have anything left to play with.

Good luck!

In these times of economic struggle it is a good idea to get a stronghold on your finances, and take total control of your personal and financial life. Jenny Thomas heaved a sigh of relief. A month ago she checked into her local hospital to deliver her first child, but unanticipated complications necessitated an emergency surgery. Fortunately both she and the baby were fine. But if it hadn’t been for her family’s health savings account (HSA), she could have ended up owing the hospital tens of thousands of dollars.

An HSA is smart savings plan that you use for unanticipated medical expenses. Usually, money that you sock away into the plan comes out of your paycheck before payroll taxes are computed, so that you maximize your savings rate. Furthermore, any income that the HAS plan itself generates (such as from interest or investment appreciation) is also tax free, so it grows fast. Some employers even contribute extra matching cash to the plan to encourage you to save.

In most parts of the country, to be eligible for an HSA you also need to hold a High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). An HDHP is a plan where the deductible – that is the amount that you pay out of pocket, before the insurance “kicks in” is somewhat higher that what you might have seen before: usually in the neighborhood of $2000 to $3000. The big idea behind the HSA/HDHP combo is that the premiums on the high-deductible plan are so much lower that even though you pay the first couple of thousand “out-of-pocket” – actually out of your HSA – you save money in the long run over a traditional plan.

Hundreds of banks, credit unions and insurance companies offer HSAs, and it’s easy to sign up. Once you’re enrolled, you can use the money in the account for most any approved medical, dental, vision or disability health care or expense.

HSA’s differ from one another mostly in the ways they grow. Some HSA’s grow like traditional savings accounts, with interest compounding daily. Other HSA’s let you be more aggressive and pick money market funds, mutual funds or other investment vehicles so that you can maximize the growth of the account. It’s up to you, and you should make sure you understand the investment choices available to you before you select your HSA institution. After you have opened an HSA, managing the account is pretty easy. You setup automatic deductions from your paycheck, usually totalling an annual amount less than your HDHP deductible. You then invest your accumulating HSA funds in interst-bearing accounts, stocks, bonds and/or mutual funds, depending on the choices available to you at your HSA institution. Returns on these investments are tax-free, so they compound fast! If, in some year, your don’t use the cash, it automatically gets carried over to the next year. So in this way HSA’s are different from “Flexible Spending Accounts” which typically follow a “use it or lose it” approach.

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The first step to avoiding the woes of financial debt is to create and maintain a budget.  It’s not as intimidating as it sounds, really its not.

First things first,  create a list of all your monthly income and also a list of your monthly expenses.  When determining income, list all sources including alimony, child support, side jobs, etc.  In calculating expenses, be sure to include housing, food, transportation, utilities, entertainment, etc.  To gain an accurate reflection of actual expenses, sit down each night and write down expenses, just make sure to save receipts.  Determine if your income covers all of your expenses.  If the answer is no, then some expenses need to be reduced.

Adjust expenses.  If it is a small discrepancy, it may mean reducing some minor expenses like entertainment or cell phone plan.  If the deficit is larger, you may need to downsize your vehicle or living arrangements.  If your income covers all of your expenses, you still may want to trim some of the excess fat off your spending habits.  This can free up extra money for things such as vacations or college funds for your children.

Additionally, consider if you need to add new categories.  Some areas that are often overlooked are debt reduction, emergency savings funds, and retirement savings.  An emergency fund ensures there is an adequate amount available to cover unforeseen events (car emergency, etc), should it arise.  This will eliminate the need for using credit which can quickly damage your budget.

There are several advantages to sticking to your budget.  Firstly, most people have set financial goals that they would like to reach in the future.  Sometimes it may be a trip, a brand new car, or a college education.  A budget can help people save money to make these goals a reality.  Additionally, many people are crushed under heavy consumer debt.  Without a disciplined pattern of spending, it is virtually impossible to make much headway in reducing debt.  A personal budget will provide the necessary framework to begin eliminating these inflated account balances.

If executed properly, a budget will allow a person to simultaneously meet their expenses, place money into savings, and pay back outstanding debts.  Therefore, it is anyone’s best interest to create and implement a budget.

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The process of applying for a business loan is a stringent one as compared to the standard procedures in obtaining a home mortgage loan or a personal loan. This is probably due to the fact that business loans contain a greater risk element as compared to other loans. Therefore, lenders need to exercise greater caution and emphasis when evaluating business loan applications in order to minimize their risk exposure.

With that, lenders evaluate their applicants based on the information that are provided as well as their judgment of the viability and profitability of the business being financed. Thus, business loan applicants will be required to submit a loan proposal along with their applications with the purpose of creating a positive impression upon the lender.

The first element of a loan proposal is an executive summary, providing short descriptions of the type of business and the industry, the purpose and usage of the loan, the proposed repayment conditions as well as the intended loan period. After that, the company information is provided, enriching the reader with the nature of the business, the location of the business, company history, the products or services provided, key differentiation factors of the company or the product, the general growth of the industry, competitive information, growth potential and target customers.

It would help if you could include your company marketing strategy, detailed product information, historical information as well as projected growth plans for the company. Apart from that, if you plan to incorporate product or service extensions in the future, you should provide these descriptions within your loan proposal. If possible, geographical expansion plans will help in the proposal.

The next area that needs to be showcased in the proposal would be the credentials and experience of each member of the management team. Impressive credentials will provide assurance to the lender that the company is managed by individuals who are responsible and capable. This is important as having the wrong people managing the company could be detrimental for the business.

In any loan application, historical records are essential to be used in evaluating the performance of a company. As new companies do not yet have these records, the financial records of the owners will be used as the basis of evaluation. Income tax returns forms are also required by lenders. All of these records provided should be the latest copies less than 90 days old, with the exception of the income tax returns form.

If the loan is applied for an existing company in active operations, company financial statements, including profit and loss accounts, balance sheets and the net worth reconciliation record should be included in the loan proposal. Again, all of this information should also be the latest and less than 90 days old. Additionally, a listing of accounts receivables and other short term and long term debt should be attached.

On the other hand, if the loan application is submitted for a new business, a pro-forma balance sheet and profit and loss account should be provided. Apart from that, a cash flow projection for the upcoming year is drafted to indicate the possibility of recovering the debt. This also means that projected revenue, profits, costs incurred and expenditure should be listed out with definite explanations provided as well as a list of assumptions.

If you possess assets that you wish to use as collateral for your loan, details for this should be provided to the lender as well. It is often common for lenders to request for dual sources of repayment in the event that one source is defaulted. This means that if the business owner defaults on his repayments, the collateral can be sold in order to recover debt.

Finally, other documents normally required for a loan application would be items like the article of incorporation, lease agreements, partnership agreements, license, references, etc. As the list of required documentation, information and attachments differs between lenders, it is best to check with the individual lender on their specific information and documents required to be attached with the loan proposal.

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