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Copyright 2006 Bookkeeping R Us All Rights Reserved
A cost center is defined as a manager being responsible only for costs within his department unit. Cost centers have no control over sales or generation of revenues. The cost center’s performance is measured by comparing actual costs against budgeted costs.
Copyright 2006 Bookkeeping R Us All Rights Reserved
Using the Loan Manager in QuickBooks you can calculate principal and interest payments, handle escrow payments and fees. Once you have set up a loan, you will be able to track and pay all of your business loans and even get reminders of when the payments are due. And if you need help making a decision on what type of loan is right for your company run the “What If “ scenario wizard. You will be able to change payment amounts, interest rates, evaluate different loans and refinancing options and compare two new loans. Under the banking menu, click on Loan Manger to access these powerful tools.
Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the game.
Donald Trump, “Trump: Art of the Deal”
US real estate construction & development businessman (1946 - )
Taxpayers Have Until April 17 to File and Pay
IR-2007-15, Jan. 24, 2007
WASHINGTON — Taxpayers across the nation will have until Tuesday, April 17, 2007, to file their 2006 returns and pay any taxes due, the Internal Revenue Service announced today.
Taxpayers will have extra time to file and pay because April 15 falls on a Sunday in 2007, and the following day, Monday, April 16, is Emancipation Day, a legal holiday in the District of Columbia.
“This year, taxpayers have additional time to file and pay beyond the traditional April 15 deadline,” said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. “As we always do, we encourage taxpayers to get an early start on their taxes to make sure they have plenty of time to accurately prepare their return.”
This means the entire country has an April 17 deadline. Previously, the April 17 deadline applied just to individuals in the District of Columbia and six eastern states who are served by an IRS processing facility in Massachusetts, where Patriots Day will be observed on April 16.
The April 17, 2007 deadline will apply to any of the following:
2006 federal individual income tax returns, whether filed electronically or on paper.
Requests for an automatic six-month tax-filing extension, whether submitted electronically or on Form 4868.
Tax year 2006 balance due payments, whether made electronically (direct debit or credit card) or by check.
Tax-year 2006 contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA.
Individual estimated tax payments for the first quarter of 2007, whether made electronically or by check.
Individual refund claims for tax year 2003, where the regular three-year statute of limitations is expiring.
Other tax-filing and payment requirements affected by this change are described in IRS Publication 509, Tax Calendars for 2007, available on this Web site.
Most taxpayers will not have to change their plans in response to this announcement. Three out of four individual filers get refunds. Typically, returns claiming refunds are filed early in the tax season.
By law, filing and payment deadlines that fall on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday are timely satisfied if met on the next business day. Under a federal statute enacted decades ago, holidays observed in the District of Columbia have impact nationwide on tax issues, not just in D.C. Under recently-enacted city legislation, April 16 is a holiday in the District of Columbia. Officials recently became aware of the intersection of the national filing day and the local observance of the new Emancipation Day holiday after most forms and publications for the current tax filing season went to print.
Even with the extra time, taxpayers can skip the last-minute rush and avoid needless mistakes by filing early, taking advantage of the speed and convenience of electronic filing, choosing direct deposit for any refunds and paying any taxes due by direct debit or credit card. IRS.gov has further details on electronic filing and payment options and links to companies providing these services.
The home office deduction is either overlooked, or misunderstood by most small businesses when filing their tax returns. Here is an article from the Internal Revenue Service that provides you with the basic requirements and regulations on this deduction.
Home Office Deduction Reminders
FS-2006-25, September 2006
WASHINGTON— Overstated adjustments, deductions, exemptions and credits account for up to $30 billion per year in unpaid taxes, according to IRS estimates.
In order to educate taxpayers regarding their filing obligations, this fact sheet, the fourth in a series, explains the rules for deducting home office expenses.
Home Office Deduction: Basic Requirements
Generally, expenses related to the rent, purchase, maintenance and repair of a personal residence may not be deducted as a business expense. However, taxpayers who use a portion of their home for business purposes may be able to take a home office deduction if they meet certain requirements. Expenses that may be deducted include the business portion of real estate taxes, mortgage interest, rent, utilities, insurance, painting, repairs and depreciation. Note: The amount of depreciation deducted, or that could have been deducted, decreases the basis of your property.
In order to claim a deduction for that part of a home used for business, taxpayers must use that part of the home:
• Exclusively and regularly as their principal place of business, as a place to meet or deal with patients, clients or customers in the normal course of their business, or in connection with their trade or business where there is a separate structure not attached to the home; or
• On a regular basis for certain storage use such as inventory or product samples, as rental property, or as a home daycare facility.
In addition, taxpayers working as employees can claim this deduction only if the regular and exclusive business use of the home is for the convenience of their employer and the portion of the home is not rented by the employer.
“Exclusive use” means a specific area of the home is used only for trade or business. “Regular use” means the area is used regularly for trade or business. Incidental or occasional business use is not regular use.
Non-business profit-seeking endeavors such as investment activities do not qualify for a home office deduction, nor do not-for-profit activities such as hobbies.
Example: An attorney uses the den in his home to write legal briefs or prepare clients’ tax returns. The family also uses the den for recreation. The den is not used exclusively in the attorney’s profession, so a business deduction cannot be claimed for its use.
These requirements are discussed in greater detail in Publication 587, Business Use of Your Home.
Computing the Amount of Home Office Deduction
Generally, the amount of the deduction depends on the percentage of the home that is used for business. The deduction will be limited if gross income from the business is less than the total business expenses.
A taxpayer can use any reasonable method to compute business percentage, but the most common methods are to:
• Divide the area of the home used for business by the total area of the home, or
• Divide the number of rooms used for business by the total number of rooms in the home if all rooms in the home are about the same size.
Taxpayers may not deduct expenses for any portion of the year during which there was no business use of the home. If the gross income from business use of the home is less than the total business expenses, the deduction for certain expenses is limited. Publication 587 includes examples, worksheets and additional information on computing the allowable deduction.
Personal Expenses Are Not Business Expenses
It is important for taxpayers to realize that business expenses may be deducted only if they are ordinary and necessary for the particular type of business. Personal, family and living expenses are not deductible under any circumstances. A common error is to deduct expenses for a portion of the home that is not used regularly and exclusively for business.
Example: The basic local telephone service charge, including taxes, for the first telephone line into a home is a nondeductible personal expense. However, charges for business long-distance phone calls on that line, as well as the cost of a second line into a home used exclusively for business, are deductible business expenses.
The IRS encourages taxpayers to familiarize themselves with the requirements before taking a home office deduction and to keep complete and accurate records to substantiate deductions. According to IRS research, understated business income, including underreported receipts and overstated expenses, is an area where compliance is a concern. In addition to increasing outreach and education in these areas, the IRS will also be focusing enforcement efforts, including examinations, on these issues.
Copyright 2006 Bookkeeping R Us All Rights Reserved
To create and execute plans and budgets for operating under estimated competitive and economic conditions by establishing costing methods and procedures that control, and reduce or improve costs. Use of inventory values for costing and pricing decisions and determining physical quantities. Analyzing costs and profits over specific accounting periods. And determining what methods to use which might increase revenues or decrease costs.
Copyright 2006 Bookkeeping R Us All Rights Reserved
If you are preparing a long document you might consider inserting bookmarks within areas of the document allowing you to eliminate time-consuming scrolling to find specific areas. You can jump from these bookmarks as needed. Here’s how you do it:
Scroll down and position your cursor immediately before the place where you would like to insert your bookmark.
Click on Insert on the menu bar and choose Bookmarks to open the Bookmark dialog box.
Type a name in the Bookmark name box that references the area you are book marking.
Click Add.
You can use the bookmarks by clicking on the Insert Menu, choosing Bookmarks and choosing the bookmark you wish to navigate to, and click on the Go To Button. You will be taken to the section of the document you chose.