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This article answers five common questions about how business assets affect your business taxes, with information about depreciation, capital gains, and how to value assets. What Are Business Assets? Business assets are anything of value owned by a business. Different types of business assets include cash, receivables, inventory, furniture, equipment, and real property (land and buildings). Business assets may be tangible (with physical form, like a piece of equipment) or intangible (with no form, like a copyright or patent)....

Why Budgeting and Tax Planning are Important The two most important financial tasks of a business owner are budgeting and tax planning. Budgeting, especially watching your cash flow, keeps your business from overspending and getting into trouble with making payments. Tax planning keeps you from having unexpected payments at tax time and helps keep your taxes to a minimum. Although different types of businesses have different expenses, there are many common types of expenses....

Business owners have many options when it comes to financing depending on their current financial situation, business needs, and growth plans. Two such popular options are a business line of credit (LOC) and business loans. In this article, we’ll look at the differences between a business LOC and business loans to help you better understand if and when you should use either one for your business. How a Business Line of Credit Works A business line of credit (LOC) works like a business credit card in that it is revolving and subject to credit review and annual renewal....

But it’s important to understand how and why they can make those changes and what you can do to mitigate the impact to your career. What Is a Job Description? A job description outlines the basic function and responsibilities of a specific job title. It typically includes the tasks, duties, goals, and expectations for the person in the position. Often, it will also provide a reporting structure, indicating where the role falls in the organization chart....

There’s a limit to what debt collectors can say when they contact your family members. If debt collectors are giving out information to your relatives rather than getting information, they’re breaking the law. Why Debt Collectors Contact Family Members If a debt collector has been trying unsuccessfully to get in contact with you, they’ll use other methods to try to get to you. That may include calling your family members to figure out the best way to contact you....

The Law on Collector Contact With Your Employer The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act allows debt collectors to contact certain third parties, including employers, only to get contact and location information about you. This means that debt collectors can contact your employer to confirm your employment. They might get your employer’s contact information from your credit report, the original creditor, or from another third party. Even though debt collectors can contact your employer, there are limits on what they’re allowed to discuss....

Sincerely, Saving for Retirement Late Dear Late, You’re essentially wondering how you can balance saving for retirement while still keeping money for yourself to spend on things you need or things you want. This is honestly one of the trickiest tightropes to walk when it comes to finances. How do you spend money to enjoy your present while also saving some money to make sure you will be able to enjoy your future?...

What Does the Lease Say? A good lease agreement includes the terms under which the tenant must use and occupy the unit during their tenancy. Specifically, this includes the condition the property must be left in at move-out. Security Deposit Clause A security deposit is an amount of money that the landlord holds during the tenancy in case the tenant breaches the lease agreement. While regulations may vary state-to-state, a landlord has the right to make deductions from this deposit if the tenant damages the unit or makes unapproved alterations to the unit....

Can You Pay a Car Payment With a Credit Card? Most lenders don’t accept credit cards for car payments. The rare lenders that do take credit cards may charge a fee for the transaction, increasing the overall cost of your loan payment. If you were hoping to earn credit card rewards on your car payment, the additional fee may offset the benefits of the rewards. There are other ways to effectively make an auto loan payment with a credit card, but they come with costs of their own....

This special tax treatment is known as the “Section 121 exclusion.” How Does the Exclusion Work? The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires that, to qualify for the exclusion, you must have owned your property for two of the last five years and lived in it as your main residence for at least two of the last five years preceding the sale date. Suppose you’ve owned and lived in your house for three years....

Basics of CDs A CD is a type of account available at your bank or credit union. Similar to a basic savings account, you earn interest on the money you deposit. CDs typically pay higher interest rates than other bank accounts, but there’s a catch: You have to leave your money untouched in the account for a specific length of time. For example, a six-month CD is meant to be left alone for six months....

The Treasury Department said Friday a new mobile and multilingual sign-up tool is being created by the nonprofit technology group Code for America to reach people who qualify for the tax credit but aren’t automatically getting it already because the IRS doesn’t have previous tax returns for them. The department also pledged to find funding for a permanent tool. In the meantime, Code for America developers say its new app—launching through www....

What Is COBRA and How Does It Work? “COBRA” stands for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. The Act is a federal law that’s been in place since 1986. It requires private insurers for employer-sponsored group health plans to keep job-based health coverage in place after qualifying events. These events include being laid off or terminated except for “gross misconduct,” and losing coverage due to a divorce or as a dependent after the death of the primary beneficiary....

When used wisely, student loans can provide a tremendous boost to your financial outlook. After graduation, when these loans become due, some graduates have a difficult time securing a job that pays enough to cover their student loan payments. This can put a strain on their budget and their long-term credit outlook. Fortunately, in some circumstances, you don’t have to repay your federal student loans, either for a specified time or permanently....

This statement is not used for financial reporting, but uses the information generated by creating your financial statements to determine your net profit or loss for the period. Net profit is making more than you spent in the period, and net loss is spending more than you made. Fixed and Variable Expenses Before you begin your calculations, you’ll need to understand fixed and variable expenses. Variable costs (or expenses) are any costs that do not remain consistent....

There’s another type of credit card, one with no preset spending limit. This card’s limit is more flexible, and this feature comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. What “No Preset Spending Limit” Really Means Some people may assume “no preset spending limit” means you have unlimited purchasing power with that credit card. That isn’t the case. Cards without preset spending limits are great—but not that great. Credit cards with no preset spending limit don’t have a defined credit limit for that card....

Learn more about deferred interest and how it works. What Is Deferred Interest? You often see these offers at stores that sell big-ticket items like furniture or electronics. You might see a sign that says there’s no interest if you pay in full within a certain timeframe. That’s a deferred interest offer. It’s deferred because you won’t be charged interest if you pay off the purchase within the timeframe. If you don’t pay off the balance or if you make multiple late payments, you could be charged all the accrued interest from when you first made the purchase....

The law of demand guides this relationship. It states that the quantity demanded will drop as the price rises, ceteris paribus or “all other things being equal.” Those other things that must remain equal are the determinants of demand: the price of related goods, income, tastes, and expectations. There’s an additional determinant for aggregate demand: the number of potential buyers in the market. We’ll review how to describe demand schedules in terms of price elasticity along with an example of how you can use a demand schedule to project how much beef a family would buy over the course of a year....

A state tax extension usually does not extend the time to pay any tax that’s due on the return. You should send a payment for whatever you anticipate you owe at the time you file the extension. In many states, taxpayers can use the extension form as a voucher to remit tax payments to the state by the tax-filing deadline. Alabama The Alabama Department of Revenue follows the federal system and automatically grants a six-month extension of time to file a return, so you have until October 15....

However, if you go into the divorce process with a good understanding of how it will impact the various facets of your finances, and enlist a team of professionals to guide you, you’ll be able to handle it in the best way possible. From splitting assets to understanding the tax implications of divorce, read on for expert advice on how to prepare for the most common issues relating to divorce and money....