Questions specific to small businesses.
3
votes
1answer
127 views
How to start a business when you owe the IRS and Everyone else?
My history:
In 2006 I was doing pretty well, my online ventures were doing around $30k profit a month however I am a programmer and did not run the business side of it well at all. (taxes, forming a ...
1
vote
1answer
97 views
Can I form a company to rent a car or apartment to my wife's employer for her to use?
My wife's job places her on long-term contracts (> 6 months) in different parts of the US. The employer currently pays for a permanent car through a popular car rental agency and a permanent room ...
2
votes
0answers
29 views
How can I split income with a person I never met? [migrated]
I am currently working on a game for the Android devices with a person I found from a forum. I have never met this guy before and so far we have only talked on email. He is from the UK and I am from ...
1
vote
2answers
61 views
How can I estimate business taxes / filing fees for a business that has $0 income?
I'm looking for a good resource to understand the penalties I need to pay in order to get my business 'up to date' with the IRS. I called the NY state and I was able to determine the amount needed ...
3
votes
1answer
60 views
How do I pay my estimated income tax?
I've recently made the move from salaried employee to small business owner. Now instead of my employer sending in my taxes incrementally with each paycheck I need to pay my expected taxes quarterly.
...
3
votes
2answers
37 views
Does business income generated while physically present in NY count as New York Source income?
Question
Is some or all of any business income generated from my Wyoming business qualify as New York source income while I'm physically present in NY?
Background
I run an IT consulting firm (LLC ...
2
votes
1answer
54 views
What approaches are there for pricing a small business?
How do you know how much a small business is worth? If someone were to sell their bed and breakfast (for argument sake), how would they know how much it's worth? ... or more importantly, how would a ...
2
votes
1answer
76 views
For qualifying for a mortgage, is it better to have a small business showing a loss or a pay stub with short history in the company?
My fiancee and I are trying to qualify for a mortgage. She is full-time W2 employee and I am a small business owner. My 2012 profit in the business was significantly less then 2011 (more than 20% ...
1
vote
2answers
862 views
Do Square credit card readers allow for personal use?
Prompted by this question, I began looking for evidence that the Square credit card reader could be used for personal transactions (transactions outside of a business context).
Users of Square must ...
1
vote
2answers
107 views
Is there a Free/Quick way to transfer money between two parties online if one of the parties is a business?
currently I have a registered business with a client that pays me every two weeks. Normally I send an invoice, and he sends a check via snail mail. We would like to move this to something online. ...
1
vote
0answers
82 views
Accounting for escrow payments in Quickbooks?
I am using Quickbooks 2011 Pro. I want to bill my tenants ahead each month for a utility (water) that itself bills once a quarter in arrears. When the water bill arrives, I want to make the next ...
0
votes
1answer
87 views
How to set up my business as a self-employed contractor
I am a full time employee in New York City who does contract work on the side. Next year, I would like to set up a business for myself for this, with the expectation that I might become a full-time ...
1
vote
1answer
66 views
What is a trade exchange and are they reputable or not?
I am trying to understand the concept of a marketplace for B2B cashless transactions. What are some examples (if any) where participation in such a marketplace can prove equitably beneficial to small ...
2
votes
1answer
38 views
How do you account for a cash payment by a customer in which some is used for payment to a vendor?
I am using Quickbooks Pro 2011. I received a $750 cash payment from a customer, then used $150 of it to pay a vendor's invoice, creating a bank deposit of $600.
I can't figure out how to credit the ...
0
votes
2answers
61 views
Are there loans for buying businesses?
You want a house or something, you get a mortgage. But what if you're buying up a hotel, or a restaurant? I see these things for sale online at reasonable prices but not so reasonable that I could ...
1
vote
4answers
134 views
Is it always bad to purchase a business you don't understand?
...YET. A business you don't understand yet.
Say you're a random fellow. You work in, I don't know, a retail store. In so doing, you somehow build up enough money to purchase a restaurant that ...
0
votes
1answer
200 views
Income tax on my online drop-shipping business (India)
I am an Indian citizen and I run a semi-drop shipping business. The details are:
I deposited 10 lakh through cheque/cash into my Indian savings bank account (PAN not submitted during account ...
6
votes
3answers
187 views
What are the ins/outs of writing equipment purchases off as business expenses in a home based business?
I'm currently self-employed doing computer programming work. As part of self-employment I'm learning about filing taxes quarterly (not fun) and also writing things off as business expenses ...
5
votes
1answer
284 views
Funds in closed bank account have gone to the government
My son was advised by his accountant to close his limited company and start a partnership instead. He did this but he was not told that he needed to clear the company bank account - he left this open ...
1
vote
1answer
401 views
How much can you write off on a car lease through a LLC?
If you lease a car over buying it, how much can you write off of the car lease for the LLC?
Given that you can lease it through the business, is that a more wise decision than buying financially?
...
6
votes
1answer
65 views
Accounting for payment into wrong currency account
I deal with clients in several countries and have two bank accounts in two currencies. Recently, I sent out an invoice with the wrong bank account number, so a client invoiced in SGD made a payment ...
1
vote
1answer
410 views
Indian Citizen want to work as a freelancer for Europe. How to pay tax in India?
I got an offer to work as a freelancer for a European company. In Europe, its like you need to set up a small legal entity on your name but is this the same in India? How can i do freelancing in India ...
0
votes
1answer
72 views
Can I set up a retirement plan for an LLC with negligible income?
I am currently working as a W2 contractor, with no access to a 401(k) plan through the contracting agency. However, I do own an LLC, with, unfortunately, negligible revenue earnings. Here are my ...
1
vote
2answers
301 views
How can I get a mortgage as a small business owner?
My partner and I are considering buying a home. We're both half-owners in our own small software company. Our business has been around for three years, has always been profitable and profits have more ...
4
votes
1answer
71 views
Rules for SEP contributions in an LLC?
I am located in NY. I have a PC (my business) and an LLC which holds the office space for my PC. The owners of the LLC is my self and my son. I am the sole owner of the PC. What are the rules of ...
11
votes
5answers
2k views
A merchant requests that checks be made out to “Cash”. Should I be suspicious?
My barber accepts only cash or checks made out to "Cash".
Is there a likely legitimate reason she might want the checks made out to "Cash"? Or am I helping her hide her revenue from the IRS?
3
votes
2answers
604 views
Taxes owed on funds raised through Kickstarter for a film I plan to shoot?
I'm looking to run a Kickstarter campaign and I was curious about a few things. Obviously you'll need to pay taxes on the amount raised, if you don't spend it all producing something (expenses). ...
4
votes
1answer
117 views
Determining the minimum dividend that should be paid from my S corporation
I am the sole shareholder and only employee of an S corporation. I understand that all profits of the corporation are passed through and taxed as income to me. I also understand that all dividends ...
1
vote
1answer
924 views
What does “LLP” stand for in the name of an organization?
What does LLP stand for? As in the example name "Flood Law Group, LLP".
3
votes
1answer
122 views
Paying Federal Income Tax without Witholding
I receive payments from iTunes Connect, and no income tax is being withheld from those payments (I am receiving the entire earnings), and I have been trying to find out how I pay Federal Income Taxes ...
1
vote
1answer
229 views
How to “pay” one self in a single member LLC w/ separate checking account?
I own a side company creating web apps. I formed an LLC, registered an EIN and opened a business checking account. Recently, I sold a copy of my software for let's say $10,000. Now, since everything ...
3
votes
1answer
92 views
Married filing separately
We recently got married and I'm thinking ahead, just because I want to be prepared. :-)
We both work FT jobs, but I also have a side company creating web applications. It's a single member LLC that ...
0
votes
1answer
72 views
Form 8829 and Multiple Businesses
I work from home and had income from 3 sources
1) as an employee of an S corp (which I'm a small part owner of) main source of income
2) Consulting done under my name individually, separate from my ...
5
votes
4answers
3k views
Any practical difference between “personal checks” and “business checks”?
I need to order checks for my LLC. I wrote maybe 5 paper checks last year (by hand, not printed). So it doesn't make sense for me to spend $30-40+ on "business checks" if I can spend $5-10 on ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
Indian citizen working from India as freelancer for U.S.-based company. How to report the income & pay tax in India?
I am an Indian citizen and I work from India as a freelancer for an U.S.-based IT company. I am getting monthly payments directly into my Indian bank account. My colleagues' monthly payment come to my ...
1
vote
1answer
82 views
US Simple donation taxation question
If i take in 50k of income and donate 40k to a 501(c)(3) non-profit, how much money will have to pay taxes on?
I am a sole proprietorship.
Thanks!
1
vote
1answer
114 views
Track uninvoiced (pre-invoiced?) expected income in Quicken
If I get a freelance assignment, at the point of the assignment I expect the income for the work to eventually be received. But there is no invoice yet so I don't think of it as a receivable.
What is ...
4
votes
1answer
97 views
How does LLC ownership work in relation to U.S. tax law?
If an established LLC business offers ownership to a new member, will that member owe federal tax even though that member has still not realized any gain?
Let's say for example the LLC is worth $10M ...
4
votes
2answers
487 views
What are the tax implications of lending to my own LLC?
Well, as I mentioned before, I'm buying rental property under the name of my LLC (California). I used cash for the purchases, but the initial investment I made in the company was not enough to cover ...
1
vote
1answer
142 views
Can a single-member LLC have a fiscal year not as the calendar year?
Well, the title pretty much is the question. I'm in California, and its a disregarded entity. It matters for the LLC tax, and a positive answer will save me $800 cash. With references please, ...
2
votes
2answers
241 views
Is it okay to issue myself a 1099 from my LLC, of which I'm the sole owner?
I own a small publishing company and occasionally publish my own books. I want to track royalty expenses on the products I've written, so my plan was to pay myself royalties, book it as a royalty ...
1
vote
2answers
212 views
How to structure a loan for my owner-financed business sale, so we are paid sooner than later?
My wife and I are in the process of selling our business to a buyer. We have agreed on an amount to sell the business for, and to owner-finance the balance.
The buyer has already taken over ...
3
votes
3answers
2k views
Deductible expenses paid with credit card: In which tax year would they fall?
If I paid my business expenses with a credit card during the month of December, which year can I deduct them from my taxes? 2011 (when the purchase was made) or 2012 (when I paid off the credit card)?
...
1
vote
1answer
42 views
Resources online to help with filing income taxes that include a small business?
My wife an I usually file taxes ourselves using the 1040A (with the standard deduction), but she started her own business this year selling jewelry. Most people are recommending to use a CPA for help ...
3
votes
2answers
157 views
Is it ok to use a check without a pre-printed check number?
I opened a new account for my business and got a bunch of starter checks. They have the routing and account numbers preprinted with MICR font and magnetic (I presume...) ink, but they don't have a ...
4
votes
1answer
236 views
How to deduct operational loss from my personal income tax?
This questions starts with "How to" but I will accept any answer as "if I should or not".
My question is related to a business that I have been running this year. I have not been very successful at ...
3
votes
1answer
140 views
Better ways to invest money held by my small, privately-held Canadian corporation?
I own a small, privately-held corporation and am looking for ways to invest my corporation's money more effectively.
The problem is the government taxes passive investment income inside a corporation ...
2
votes
3answers
114 views
Proper “Legal Services” insurance - is there such thing?
There's the "Prepaid Legal", and my company offers a "MetLaw" program as a benefit, and I wonder how useful are they, and if there are more?
I'm looking into a program that will cover my needs for ...
3
votes
1answer
120 views
How to handle Client Deposits in Xero (or any finance software, really)
This is likely a novice question and (hopefully) easy to answer.
I'm a web & software designer/developer and using Xero to manage finances. With new contracts I require a deposit of 30% of the ...
5
votes
1answer
198 views
I have a 401k loan used for a house down payment and now I am changing jobs: What should I do?
I guess this could be a cautionary tale, but I am hoping it can be remedied.
I had a job that I am leaving, but I had took a 401k loan to put down on a house. I don't have the money to pay it back ...
