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Book Description

Don’t be taxed out of business! Know your rights and KEEP MORE OF WHAT YOU EARN

It’s great to start a business and be your own boss—but with all the taxes you pay, it sometimes feels like you’re working for the government. This book teaches you ways to work smarter – not harder!

The go-to tax guide for small-business owners is packed with tips for dramatically lowering your taxes. This new edition covers key provisions passed by Congress that will affect your taxes for 2016 through 2020. It includes:

• Enhanced checklists
• Improved entity comparisons
• Updates on valuable business resources and tools
• New information about depreciation
• Critical home-office information
• Need-to-know online business issues
• Expanded tips on Tax Notices and audits

Small Business Taxes Made Easy covers more than just taxes. It includes business plans, legal tax-cutting tips, and ways to build your dynasty – or develop a smart exit plan (think Venture Capital or IPO). Best of all, you learn how to increase your profits and your cash flow and to ensure your business is a success.

You have more rights as a taxpayer than you probably realize, and this unparalleled guide helps you exercise them to the max!

Small Business Taxes Made Easy offers easy-to-follow, actionable advice with timeless information. Whatever kind of business you run, this book provides everything you need to hold on to more of the profits you’ve worked so hard for.

Table of Contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. Introduction: A Letter from Eva Rosenberg to You, the Business Owner
  8. Lighten Up
  9. How to Use This Book
  10. 1 SMALL BUSINESS CHECKLIST
    1. Three Indicators Will Predict the Success of the Business
    2. So What Do You Need to Do?
    3. The Checklist in To-Do Order
    4. Checklist Resources
  11. 2 BUSINESS PLANS YOU KNOW AND TRUST
    1. Chapter 2 Exercise—Create a Business Plan
    2. Why You Need a Business Plan
    3. Real Business—Planned Losses
    4. General Benefits
    5. The Fine Line Between Success and Failure
    6. Exit Plans for Fun and Profit
    7. Let’s Not Fail Due to Success
    8. Outline of a Plan
    9. Rebalancing Your Business Plan for Tax Consequences
    10. Business Plan Books and Resources
  12. 3 ENTITIES
    1. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
    2. What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?
    3. Major Issues Related to Entities
    4. Entities, in All Their Glory
    5. A Brief Word About Nevada, Delaware, and Wyoming Corporations
    6. What About Nonprofits?
    7. Entities We’re Not Discussing
    8. All the Highlights in One Place
    9. Your Big Decision
    10. Entity Resources
  13. 4 RECORD KEEPING
    1. Keeping Records Is a Pain!
    2. Types of Accounting Systems
    3. Doing It by Hand
    4. The IRS Says It All
    5. Fiscal Year
    6. Accounting Styles
    7. Records You Must Keep
    8. How Long Should You Keep Records?
    9. Glossary of Bookkeeping Terms
    10. Record-Keeping Resources
  14. 5 INCOME
    1. Money In, Money Out, Wave Your Hands All About
    2. A Capital Idea
    3. What Is Income?
    4. Timing of Income
    5. A Brief Note About Accrual Basis
    6. Sales Taxes Received—Are They Your Money?
    7. Income Rarely Reported
    8. The IRS Has a Cash Audit Guide
    9. 1099s Your Business Receives
    10. So What the Heck Is Income?
    11. Income Resources
  15. 6 COMMON DEDUCTIONS
    1. Rule of Thumb
    2. Universally Deductible
    3. It’s All About You
    4. Mixed-Use Assets
    5. Depreciation
    6. More Deductions Than You Can Imagine
    7. Deduction Resources
  16. 7 OFFICE IN HOME
    1. The Song Is Right! Let’s Stay Home
    2. It’s a Red Flag; It’s Just Asking for an Audit
    3. Another Attractive Change to the Law Affecting Homeowners Only
    4. Simplify, Simplify
    5. Inner Space
    6. Two Critical Reminders
    7. Prove It, Baby!
    8. What Are Office-in-Home Expenses?
    9. When You Can’t Use Office-in-Home Deductions
    10. Evaluate Your Options
    11. A Final Note—and a Final Story
    12. Office-in-Home Resources
  17. 8 VEHICLES: EVERYONE’S FAVORITE DEDUCTION
    1. Deducting Auto Expenses
    2. Should I Lease or Buy?
    3. The Cons of Depreciation
    4. Give Yourself Credit
    5. Vehicle Resources
  18. 9 EMPLOYEES AND INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS
    1. Who Is an Employee?
    2. Protecting Yourself from Independent Contractor Claims
    3. What Are 1099-MISCs?
    4. Payroll and Payroll Taxes
    5. Payroll Across Entities
    6. Hiring Family Members
    7. Paying Payroll
    8. Preparing Payroll: Checks, Journals, Reports
    9. Reporting Payroll
    10. Employee Benefits
    11. Employee Ownership and Stock Options
    12. Summing Up Employees
    13. Employee and Independent Contractor Resources
  19. 10 OWNERS’ FRINGE BENEFITS, RETIREMENT, AND TAX DEFERMENT
    1. Fringe Benefits and Reimbursements
    2. Retirement Plans
    3. Tax-Deferred Opportunities
    4. Using the IRS to Your Advantage
    5. Benefits Resources
  20. 11 ESTIMATED PAYMENTS
    1. Estimated Payments Overview
    2. My Short Method
    3. Worst-Case Scenario
    4. Computing Your Estimated Installment Payments
    5. Paying the Tax
    6. Tips to Reduce Penalties for Underpayment of Estimated Tax
    7. Don’t Overpay Your Estimates If You’re in Trouble
    8. Estimated Payment Resources
  21. 12 SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR ONLINE BUSINESSES
    1. WWW = Who, What, Where?
    2. What? I Thought There Was No Internet Tax
    3. Nexus
    4. Internet Sales Tax Issues
    5. Rents and Services—Domestic and Abroad
    6. Legal Issues on the Internet
    7. In the End
    8. Online Business Resources
  22. 13 TAX NOTICES, AUDITS, AND COLLECTION NOTES
    1. Dealing with Basic Tax Notices for Individual Returns
    2. IRS Audits
    3. What Will Happen During the Audit?
    4. Negotiating
    5. Audit Reconsiderations, Appeals, and Tax Court: Some Brief Words
    6. Owing Taxes
    7. How About Filing Bankruptcy?
    8. Summary of IRS Interactions
    9. Tax Notices, Audits, and Collection Notes Resources
  23. Epilogue: Some Final Words of Advice—and Resources to Rely On
  24. Index