The Self Employment Tax

By Moneysmartz on Fri, January 26, 2007, 1:08 PM | Link

Archived Under: Business Ownership , Moneysmartz Editor , Taxes , The Moneysherpa Pages
Tags: Business Ownership, Moneysmartz Editor, Taxes, The Moneysherpa Pages

Starting a business is daunting. Adding to the stress is an array of administrative tasks, not the least of which is dealing with the IRS. If you are self-employed and wondering how to calculate and pay your taxes, there are many helpful online resources that should lower your blood pressure, get your taxes out of the way, and allow you to focus on important tasks, like making money.

For an easy to digest overview of self-employment taxes, visit Wachovia's Self-Employment Tax page with ways to report the self-employment tax to the IRS and available income tax deductions.

For forms and an in-depth review of the self-employment tax, visit the Internal Revenue Service.

To estimate your self-employment taxes, visit H&R Block's self-employment tax estimator. If you are paying self-employment taxes for the first time, then prepare for a shock. The good news is that a portion of your self-employment tax is an income tax deduction.

Finally, Moneysmartz offers a complete list of self-employment tax resources.

Finding a Local Bank

By Moneysmartz on Thu, September 28, 2006, 8:36 AM Discuss (0) | Link

Archived Under: Banking Services , Business Ownership , Financial Services , Local Financial Services , The Moneysherpa Pages
Tags: Banking and Credit, Banking Services, Business Ownership, FDIC, Financial Services, Local Banking Services, Moneysmartz Editor, The Moneysherpa Pages

For many of us, finding a local bank consists of locating nearby branches, surfing banking websites, and maybe visiting bank branch offices. For businesses, the task may be more complicated, based on existing relationships or referrals.

In the case of both business and personal banking, we often neglect researching bank assets, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) certification, and the number of branches in our locale.

To answer all of these questions, and more, The FDIC offers a directory of FDIC certified institutions, with information about total assets, specialized categories, and branch offices. For personal and business banking, this resource is particularly helpful if you are looking at a smaller regional bank and have concerns about long-term solvency, the number of branch offices, or certification. At the minimum, the FDIC directory is worth a few minutes before beginning what may be a very long-term relationship.

For a list of primarily national banks, visit the Banking Services category in the Moneysmartz Directory.

Google and Quickbooks 2007 Align

By Moneysmartz on Wed, September 13, 2006, 3:56 PM Discuss (0) | Link

Archived Under: Business Ownership , Moneysmartz Editor , The Moneysherpa Pages
Tags: Business Ownership, Google, Moneysmartz Editor, Quickbooks, The Moneysherpa Pages

Today Intuit said it would be incorporating many of Google's most popular services for small business, including Google Adwords, Google Base, and Google Maps, into the 2007 version of QuickBooks accounting software. This partnership should be most helpful for small businesses looking to easily set-up and manage online marketing campaigns using Google Adwords, small businesses selling products using Google Base, and small businesses marketing locally using Google Maps.