Californians have another 7 and a half hours to file their taxes. If you haven't started yet, it's time to jump on TurboTax.com and get cracking. This will be my first year filing taxes without a W-2. As a freelancer, I've been looking for tips on deductions and tax filing in general. MORE This comment thread over on Gawker is useful and so is this Wired column. Lifehacker has more tips, including this important one: If you haven't finished your taxes by now, just file an extension. Most of the rest of the advice amounts to... lire la suite
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#8567 If iTunes — one of the least intuitive user interfaces around — isn’t transferring podcasts onto your iPod (which, except for the wheel, is a UI so badly designed that your first instincts are almost wrong): 2. Click on the “Podcasts” tab in the window on the right. (See here for instructions and a screenshot.) (I’m not proud of this. It just never occurred to me that syncing podcasts would be off by default. And I had always clicked through the very top level of the device, not recognizing it as a preference pane. Hence the self-inflicted D’oh!.) 4. Smite your forehead and say “D’oh!” [Tags: tips itunes firefox ]
The Bush administration has brought its concerns about the detention of a well-known blogger to the Saudi Arabian government at “a relatively senior level,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Thursday.
When I read something like today’s news that only 10% of American newspaper editors consider foreign news to be “very essential” to their coverage, I instinctively turn to the bloggers who I know will have something enlightening, thoughtful and sometimes profound to say. And that by itself says a lot about how news is changing. Of course, I did read that particular news in a newspaper, although I was referred there by a blog aggregator. So, I’m not saying that professional news media are unnecessary or add nothing. Not at all. But the news ecology in just a few years has become 100% mixed.
Californians have another 7 and a half hours to file their taxes. If you haven't started yet, it's time to jump on TurboTax.com and get cracking. This will be my first year filing taxes without a W-2. As a freelancer, I've been looking for tips on deductions and tax filing in general. MORE This comment thread over on Gawker is useful and so is this Wired column. Lifehacker has more tips, including this important one: If you haven't finished your taxes by now, just file an extension. Most of the rest of the advice amounts to "keep records," which is a bit late now. Here's what my dad, self-employed for 20+ years had to say: If you are really a freelancer, then you are self-employed and you don't use Form 8829. Instead all your expenses (and income) show up on Schedule C. Sweet! How to tell: if you receive a W-2 then you are an employee. If you receive a 1099-MISC then you are self-employed. (If you get nothing then your client is a bozo and you are self-employed.) Like many of the responders said, get really creative with your expenses. Not illegal, just... creative. Keep track of EVERY expense in a diary or DayTimer (nothing keeps IRS at bay like contemporary written records). Keep track of business mileage ($.405 per mile or something). You can lose money (have much more expenses than income) for a while. 2 out of 5 years, say. Eventually you'd better make some money. But those first few years, yowza, you can deduct all those cool computers and phones you use to write your columns.
The ban on the Internet tax is one of the most compelling and important bills to cross legislator desks in years. A tax of the Internet would be an utter mistake that could cause even more ridiculous spending on the part of this government at the expense of hard working individuals that rely on the Internet for entertainment, well being, employment, or any combination of those attributes... We live in an environment where we’re overtaxed and under-rewarded. With grand promises of better education, more paved roads and public works, lawmakers do whatever they can to take our tax money. And unfortunately, we sometimes fall for it. But when it comes to the Internet, there is no good justification for taxing our access. I hate to get too deep into this discussion, but in my mind, a taxed Internet means less disposable income that can be used on something far more important — your family. The rumors of an Internet tax has been going around for years, but now the US government, and many governments around the world, want money from the new economy called The Web. There are many levels to Internet Taxes. There is the issue Reisinger addresses which is the application of a tax on Internet Providers for every user on the Internet. It could be that you might soon be paying for your blog, or at least access to it. But how far will this go? It used to be easy to buy things on the Internet and not pay sales tax for purchases outside your state. Now, that’s not longer true nor consistent. And what about all that money you are making on the web? Are you paying income taxes on it? Do you even report it? Do you get tax reports on the income you earn from the various advertisers, and do they in turn report your income to the government as is required by some countries? Which government? The one the company is based in, or yours? Do you want to pay a tax for having a blog? Do you want to pay taxes on your email services? What about paying a tax fee for every dollar generated from the ads on your blog? It’s a “sale” in one way of thinking, right? Taxes and the Internet are a messy business, but there are billions to be made in taxes if the governments can come up with ways to grab more of your money from this new source. Or maybe, as one friend suggested, we should stop all other taxes and just tax the Internet. It’s the future of the economy, so why not just switch all taxes online and let those not participating in the online economy get a break for one? Weird thought. It’s going to take some very creative thinking to handle taxing the Internet. Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.
Tax Cat knows that it's a hard subject, but if your home has been foreclosed there's something you should know about changes to the tax laws. Tax laws consider forgiven debt as income, which can... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Around the blogosphere, I’m suddenly seeing a new spark alight on the subject of blogging. Is this the latest hot topic (or discussion du jour) online: blogging for money? I’ve also noticed a little explosion of new financial bloggers contributing to threads and roundups. Well, whether or not you decide to get into such an activity, I’d like to introduce you to a few of us who have decided to “write and blog ABOUT money” — here are some financial articles out there this week! · Blueprint For Financial Prosperity: I think we personal finance bloggers have covered it all. Jim covers the 7 deadly sins of personal finance, while at one point, I discussed bad investing habits along with the 7 deadly sins of investing . · All Financial Matters talks about a case of renting an apartment to a particular woman. · Frugal Dad tells us how to install a programmable thermostat. · Money Smart Life gives us a guide to budgeting and money tracking for newlyweds. · Gen X Finance asks: who pays more taxes, the rich or the poor? · Mighty Bargain Hunter has a great reminder for all of us: any debt reduction method is good! So keep on doing whatever works for you. · Million Dollar Journey’s Frugal Trader gives us a look at his stock portfolio leveraged with money borrowed from his home equity line of credit (HELOC). · Brip Blap asks: What is a career? Steve does his own career post roundup. · My Dollar Plan shares her new retirement lifestyle cash flow. As I quit my job early this year as well to strike out on my own as a self-employed blogger , I’ve also experienced a decrease in both income and expenditures. · Fashion On A Budget: Dress Up Your Life @ Brunette on a Budget
The year is almost out, and tax time is just around the corner. Here are some tips for SEOs and web marketers on how to lower your income by increasing your expenses. · Donate to Charity - want to do some good? Why not donate some cash to a good charity? · Buy a better name - does your domain name suck? Now is the perfect time to buy a better one. · Yahoo! Search Marketing - if you are a big user of Yahoo Search Marketing you can pay a few thousand extra in advance · Website design & custom programming - need new features or a fresh look to take your website to the next level? Make that down payment made in the next couple days. · Software & tools - thinking about trying out a piece of software? Now is a great time to buy. What are your best tax tips?