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Lazone Grays's Blog
Taking Business Tax Deductions
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What kind of deductions can I take as a small business? When you own a business, you are taxed on your profits, not on your gross income. Profits are calculated by deducting various expenses from your gross receipts. Most common expenses are deductible, but some are subject to limitations and others are not deductible at all. Also, the timing of deductions varies depending on whether you are a cash basis or an accrual basis taxpayer. Knowing which expenses are deductible is important. If you are a shareholder or partner in a 25% tax bracket, every dollar of deductions saves 25 cents of tax on your income. If you are located in a state that imposes income tax, each write-off is worth even more because it will save you state taxes, too. To determine whether a you can deduct an expense, ask yourself: Is this expense both ordinary and necessary to the business? Both elements are required by the IRS. - An expense is ordinary if it is common and accepted in your industry.
- A necessary expense is one that is helpful and appropriate for your business.
Common small business deductions include costs for:
To be deductible, the IRS requires that a business expense be both ordinary (common and accepted in your industry) and necessary (helpful and appropriate for your business). There�s a long list of business expenses you may be able to deduct. They include: - Accounting fees
- Advertising
- Bad debt
- Contract labor
- Domain names and web site hosting
- Employee benefit programs
- Insurance
- Office equipment and furniture
- Salaries, wages, and other compensation
- Software
- Supplies, such as printers, staplers, and coffee beans
- Travel
- Utilities
- Vehicles
There are also business expenses that are only partially deductible, including: - Home office expenses
- Expenses for vehicles used for business (determined by the percentage of personal use vs. business use)
- Costs to feed and entertain clients
- Gifts (up to $25 per person)
Look for professional help to prepare your taxes? Best Business Solutions - Ruth D. Anazia - Tax Preparation |
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| January 26, 2008 | 1:01 AM |
| January 24, 2008 | 1:01 AM |
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Free business plan software, samples, online tools
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Fast4Cast offers free business plan software, samples, online tools and provides consulting. The business plan software includes an online word processor and financial statements which can be edited online. The application integrates the business plans text, forecasted financial statements, supporting schedules and graphs into one document which can be save as a word file or viewed online. Upon request, consulting is provided at reasonable rates. With the online Fast4Cast application you can easily build a complete, well formatted business plan without installing any software. Since there is nothing to install, you can start immediately and our cost is much lower (so low we can offer the service for free!). Write the text portion of your business plan using our online word processor which includes sample business plans and business plan outlines. At any time you can save your business plan as a word document. You even can cut and paste text from/to your word document to/from the online text editor. A complete business plan requires integrated forecasted financial statements along with supporting graphs and schedules. You don't need to be an accountant to build the forecasted financial statements. The financial statements for 20 types of small businesses are already built. All you need to do is select your industry and then make minor adjustments to fit your forecast. http://www.fast4cast.com/ |
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| January 23, 2008 | 1:01 AM |
Entrepreneurial Synergy, LLC opening soon!
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OPENING SOON!
ENTREPRENEURIAL SYNERGY LLC Offers business meeting space for : Community meetings Business meetings One on one meetings Training sessions Retreats
FEATURES:
Available February 1, 2008 One time or ongoing meetings Reasonably price at $25 per hour Training equipment available (additional fees apply) ======================================= CALL AND SCHEDULE YOUR SPACE TODAY! (785) 554-1533 |
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| January 20, 2008 | 4:01 AM |
It's Income Tax Time!!!
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Best Business Solutions...
Warning: Handle your Income Tax Returns with Extreme Care!!
*Get all deductions you are entitled to under the new law, *Get PEACE OF MIND knowing your income tax return is carefully examined for accuracy by a 15 year experienced tax preparer before it is filed with the IRS, *Tax Planning and Preparation for Individuals, Sole-Proprietors and Small Business Concerns
Tax Preparation Service 3632 S. Topeka Blvd. Topeka, Kansas (Inside Above All Books) Southeast Entrance of White Lakes Mall For More Information: (785) 266-6107 |
Day, Evening and Weekend Appointments Available
Walk-ins Welcome
You can drop off your taxes and come back later to pick them up. Contact me to set an appointment at (785) 969-3564. I welcome your call.
IRS Form W-2, 1040 or 1099 Questions? ruth6627@sbcglobal.net *First time clients receive $20.00 off "Helping Small Businesses to Grow & Succeed" |
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| January 19, 2008 | 3:01 AM |
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Big 12 Conference on Black Student Government
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Subject: Big XII Conference on Black Student Government
Posted: 18 Jan 2008 CST W. Lazone Grays, a Kansas advocate for economic empowerment and nonprofit administrator for IBSA, Inc. will conduct a workshop on 'Moving Forward: Being a Proactive, Progressive, Effective Leader' at the 31st Annual Big 12 Conference on Black Student Government. The conference will be held at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK on Feb. 14-17, 2008. A resident of Topeka, Grays has participate in a variety of significant economic and community development activities across the state over the years and served as a delegate in 1997 for the Leon Sullivan African/African American Summit held in Zimbabwe, South Africa. Regional activity include participation in the Kansas Governors' Prosperity Summit and recognition for innovation in workforce development at the 1999 Missouri's Governors Conference on Workforce Development. IBSA is a recognized resource partner for startup and expanding businesses through KCSourceLink.com, NetworkKansas.com and the Kansas Dept. of Commerce Office of Minority and Women Business Development. The agency specializes in providing microenterprise development and support services, promotes civic participation and encourages leadership development for youth and young adults. Grays is a graduate of Washburn University and have been awarded numerous awards for community service, minority business advocacy and leadership. He has also sat on several advisory boards relating to youth, job training, and socioeconomic development. He currently oversees regional programs and services the organization conducts under the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA), and is developing branch offices in New York, Louisiana, and Texas that have partnered with local community organizations to implement non-traditional programs for youth and entrepreneurs. If you have any questions about the conference, contact the conference's principal advisor Dr. Phil Birdine in the Multicultural Student Center at (405)744-5481 BIG XII Conference
on Black Student Government The Big 12 Conference on Black Student Government is designed to address issues facing African American students on college campuses. As a premier student leadership conference in the United States, the Big 12 has a long tradition of providing quality seminars, as well as stimulating interactive workshops and programs on timely and relevant issues. The conference exposes attendees to nationally acclaimed presenters and speakers covering a wide range of topics. The theme of this year's conference is "The Revival: A New Blueprint for Success". The conference objective is to promote awareness of the transformation that needs to be made in order to be successful in today's society. Students must revive their thoughts, plans, and actions in order to adapt to the new wave of change. IBSA, Inc.
629 SE Quincy
Suite 102
Topeka, KS 66603
785-232-4272
ibsa@myway.com | IBSA is a nonprofit organization that provides direct employment or career counseling, microenterprise training & development and facilitates courses involving specialized training and certification. |
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| January 18, 2008 | 11:01 AM |
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What would it take to close the achievement gap?
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Interesting perspective by an insider...By JILL SHACKELFORD, KCKPS Superintendent
Published: Friday, January 18, 2008 10:22 AM CSTEarlier this week, I was reading a report from the Panasonic Foundation, which began with the following statement:
�It is a disturbing truth that race and class are highly predictive of student achievement in our schools. It is almost as though the literal chains that restrained African slaves have been transformed into figurative chains that form an iron-clad connection between children�s social and economic circumstances and their prospects for success in school and life.�
The author continued: �The links can and will be broken. It�s a matter of will, moral courage, strategic acumen, applied knowledge, and persistent work at every level of the system . . . To blame inequality of educational outcomes on the race and class of children and their families is to ignore extensive and ever-growing data revealing that, on the whole, public education is hardwired� consciously or not�to perpetuate the inequalities that children are born into.�
Wow!
I don�t know if I�ve ever heard it so clearly stated: Rather than being the great �equalizer� that many of us imagine education to be, schools actually perpetuate the unequal circumstances into which children are born. Or, if we turn it around and say it in a positive way, public schools could be the vehicle by which we break the cycle of poverty and hopelessness into which so many children, particularly children of color, are born. If this is true (and I believe it is,) then we must ask ourselves: �What would we need to change, in order to create schools where you couldn�t predict a child�s academic achievement by the color of their skin, the family�s income, the language the family speaks in the home, or how much education the parent had?� In other words: �What would it take to close the achievement gap?�
Well, if I knew all the answers, I would write a book. But there are some things I do know:
To close the achievement gap, we would have to decide that we had both the power and the responsibility to close the gap. Until we are willing to confront the idea that �public schools are hardwired to perpetuate inequality,� nothing will change. This is difficult to comprehend, especially for educators. None of us would be in this job if we didn�t believe we could make a difference, particularly for the children who need us most. None of us wants to believe that our actions, no matter how well intentioned, might actually perpetuate, rather than eliminate inequality.
We would have to find a way to talk together without blame, but with each of us willing to shoulder our share of the responsibility to change how we do business. To close the achievement gap, it will take the entire community working shoulder to shoulder, over a long period of time. Our hands will be full with the work we have to do, and no one will have either the time, the energy, or even a free hand with which to point fingers. We would have to figure out how to talk in this community about race. As a society, we have fallen into what is essentially a collective silence about the issue of race, and its ongoing impact upon our communities. More ominously, we have left it to people of color to raise the issue, and frequently expressed annoyance when they do. The impact of race upon achievement is something we all would need to be willing to explore. My colleague Addye Hawkins is leading a group of district staff in �courageous conversations� about race. These conversations need to be continued, and expanded.
Finally, we would have to believe that there is strength in diversity, and that equality of opportunity is something that benefits the entire community. We would have to believe that more opportunities will come to a community where all students are achieving at high levels, and that, rather than fighting over a piece of the pie, we could actually expand the size of the pie.
I have heard it said that equality of educational opportunity is the civil rights struggle of the 21st Century. During a week when we pause to celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I can think of no better tribute, than to work to make sure that our education system serves all children well, regardless of race, gender, language of origin or family income. Is anyone else willing to dream with me?
Dr. Jill Shackelford is the superintendent of the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools District. http://kansascitykansan.com/articles/2008/01/18/news/news5.txt#blogcomments |
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| January 18, 2008 | 4:01 AM |
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