The Small Business Tax Help Blog

Posts Tagged ‘finance’

Question: What percentage of top 2% earners that want their crazy tax cuts to continue are actual small business owners?

50? 10? .5?

Answer: We all want our “crazy tax cuts” to be extended.

Corporate Tax Cut BS Exposed

Question: How can I sort dates using excel formulas?

I’m trying to create a expense report for my small eBay business. Where I enter each item , date purchased in numeric form (11/07/09) Then the cost say $7.00. My problem is I want it to summaries on a separate tab the month and cost. So if I enter a item on my expense sheet and the date column is 11/07/09 and the purchase price is say 7.00 on a separate tab it will enter the purchase price in the November column and keep adding all purchases for that month. So basically what ever date i input for in numeric form on my expense sheet it will update on another tab that months expenses. so I have one box with a month and underneath it a running tally of that months expense.

Thanks so much

Answer: I would recommend you make a Pivot Table. This is what they are designed to do.

For this example, in A1 put “Date”, in B1 put “Price”, and in C1 put “Month”. It’s important to have column labels for the data when you make a pivot table.

1st: On your expense sheet, you want to create a column that has just the month of the date. This will make the Pivot Table much easier to build. If your dates are in column A and the prices are in column B, put this in C2 and copy it down column C
=TEXT(A1, “mmmm”)
This will put the month of the date from column A in column C.

Now select columns A to C

Select from the menu Data Pivot Table or Chart Report
Pivot Table wizard:
Step 1 of 3:
-Microsoft Excel List
-Pivot Table
Next

Step 2 of 3
-Range: Sheet1!$A:$C
Next

Step 3 of 3
-Existing Worksheet: Sheet1!$A:$C
Click the “Layout” button
-Drag “Price” to the Data area
-Double-click on “Count of Price”
–Select “Sum” and OK on the “PivotTable Field” dialog.
–”Count of Price” should now be “Sum of Price”
-Drag “Month” to the Column area
(-Optional: drag “Date” to the Row area if you want to list each item for each month.)
- – OK

Click Finish on the Pivot Table wizard.

Pivot Table formatting adjustments:
- Click the “Month” drop-down and un-check the “blank” checkbox
- Right-click anywhere on the Pivot Table and select Table Options
- – Un-check the “Grand totals for rows” checkbox
- – OK

Done

Note: when you add more data to the expense sheet, you will have to right-click on the pivot Table and select Refresh Data for the new entries to be included.

lynda.com: Excel 2007: Creating Business Budgets

Question: Where can I find an income Tax Withholding calculator specific to my state, similar to the IRS calculator?

I check my federal Tax Withholding amount to date against the IRS calculator every so often to make sure I am paying only a little more than I need to so I’m not loaning the fed. government tons of money.

I would like to be able to check my state withholding to make sure I am not over paying that as well.
I can’t seem to find a reliable source.

I have found some tables, but they don’t take several variables into account. I looked at this weeks pay stub and feel like I have probably payed my state taxes for the year, the payroll dept. has me claiming zero allowances lol. So I have already given the state several thousand dollars.

I know approximately how much I will make this year and would like to figure out if I have given the state enough of my money.

Answer: I would suggest you read Pub 15, page 35, 36 and so on… to understand how they calculate your withholding.

1/- For example:

You are single, zero allowance, weekly paycheck.

You have 800.00 gross pay every week.

Look at page 36, table 1, you income falls into $704 ——— $1,648

So then your withholding :

$91.40 + 25% ( 800 – 704 )

$91.40 + 25% * 96.00 = $91.40 + $24.00 = $115.40, this is your withholding.

Or you could look at page 39, there are more tables for you.

Here it is :

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15.pdf

This is for Federal withholding only, no State, sorry!

2/- Another way is this web site : www.paycheckcity.com, I have believed you knew it from this forum. You can try both ways to see which one is the right answer. You can have State withholding in here too.
State withholding is always different, each State has its own way to calculate, it is not general like Federal. I hope someone will show you another website.

Eric Tippetts – Secret Video for MLM Home Business Owners!

Question: Small Business Owner – Tax Filing?

I started a business at the end of 2006 in which I purchased a few thousand dollars of equipment and supplies. I didn’t provide any services or collect any money until 07′….can I write off some of my business expenses on my return for 06′ even though I didn’t actually provide any services until 07′?

Answer: You have to capitalize those costs.

Capitalize means you combine those costs into an asset called “Organization Costs” and you amortize those costs over fifteen years (180 months). You capitalize because you have no revenue to take these expenses against in full this year.

If your startup costs are under $50,000, the law does allow you to write off $5,000 and then amortize the rest over 180 months, or 15 years.

The H&R Block guys are not necessarily the best. I audited many returns and assessed a lot of tax on H&R Block returns. . .

Minimize Taxes by Maximizing Expenses- Business Tax Reduction Tips

Question: If we give another massive tax cut to big business and stay the course in iraq?

and afghanistan….and send soldiers to pakistand to help musharraf put down the insurgency against his tyrannnical regime…..while allowing the status quo to continue with illegal aliens and the outsourcing of jobs to china and india…when will the budget be balanced? by the end of 2009?

Answer: This question is absurd. The tax cuts were needed and we can’t cut and run in Afghanistan and Iraq. We gave our word to those people. Our word needs to mean something.

Money Crunch in China Forces Wave of Small Business Failures

China’s economy is caught in a difficult dilemma between trying to maintain growth and controlling inflation.

Business Operators Laugh At Peter Schiff’s Idiotic Assertion That China = Capitalist Free Market