Tax planning is an integral part of running a business, but it doesn’t mean you have to pay more than you have to. You will reduce your taxes by maximizing deductions and credits to lower the amount you owe when you file your taxes. Now that we are coming into tax season, we want to share some things you can do as a business to keep your tax liability low. These simple tips are easy to do, but they can save you a boatload of money. This article will look at some of the items that will move the needle forward in your favor.

U.S tax laws are pretty complicated, and there is a lot to consider with your business. It is sometimes difficult to understand if you are a small business owner and what changes to expect in the upcoming tax season. This blog will take you through some of the tax planning tips you can implement in your business with the help of a CPA.

What are some tax planning tips that you can use for small business owners?

As a small business owner, you have to focus on many different aspects of your business. The most crucial element is doing everything to protect your business and your assets. You can’t do that unless you do an excellent job of tax planning. So what are some ways you can ramp up your savings for the 2021 tax year?

Here are four quick and simple tips:

1. If you use your home as a home office, a certain percentage can be written off as a business expense even though it is not a traditional physical office.
2. If you use your cell phone primarily as a business communication device, you can include the monthly billing expense of your device(s) to reduce your tax liability.
3. If your vehicle is used to conduct business, you can leverage exemptions for this.
4. Meals at local restaurants are a great way to boost the local economy and reduce your tax liability.

How can small business owners use tax planning to save money?

Entrepreneurs often get bogged down with the day-to-day operations of their business. However, they also need to be thinking ahead. As a business owner, don’t you want to pay as little as possible to the government? If so, then you need to think about tax planning. Getting tax services from a professional tax planner or CPA is the way to go.

Conclusion:

Tax time is coming up quickly! For many businesses, this means accounting for all the hard work you’ve put into your business over the past year and getting your business to a place where you can enjoy a little more free time. However, it can be a stressful and expensive tax month if you do not do your tax planning in advance! We hope the information provided in this blog post has been helpful to you in preparing for tax time. If you have any tips or tricks that you would like to share, please feel free to reach out.

GST or Goods & Service Tax is an integral part of the business and consumer sector. Singapore persists to grow and evolve. In the same way, regulations associated with GST rates, paperwork, and filings are updated and enhanced consistently.

Business owners find this challenging because they need to survive the tough competition and stay compliant with the consistently changing GST regulations. Therefore, businesses need to consider hiring a GST specialist for an audit to avoid risks and penalties. 

What’s a GST audit?

It is a process, where government officials check your daily business transactions. The IRAS officers conduct the audits to make sure that your business complies with GST regulations. They check for accuracy of every information, computation, and assumption. 

GST audit occurs randomly for GST-registered businesses in Singapore. It is wise to a company that specializes in this area for GST audits. There are GST audit specialists and help you identify any errors in input tax claims or see if GST is charged properly or supplies are accurately classified. 

GRB [GST-registered businesses] can self-assess their compliance regulations before filing returns with IRAS. The IRAS has published a checklist called ASK or Assisted Self-test Kit. For certain GRBs, self-check is mandatory to take part in the Government schemes like –

• AMCS or Approved Marine Customer Scheme
• IGDS or Import GST Deferment Scheme
• MES or major Exporter Schemes
• ARCS or Approved refiner and Consolidator Scheme
• AISS or Approved Import GST Suspension Scheme
• ACMT or Approved Contract Manufacturer & Trader Scheme

Many GRBs find it challenging to handle GST problems, so when they are notified from IRAS about GST audit there is a situation of anxiety and concerns for business owners. Even if the business has taken preventive measures to ensure compliance, some unintentional errors can raise a red flag. 

Based on the scope, circumstance, and nature of non-compliance, the ramification of such discoveries can impact the business in terms of more investigations, penalties, or jail. 

Preparation for potential audit

When you get the first audit notice, get supporting documentation and records compiled and updated. It will need plenty of double-checking and cross-checking to ensure that there is no missing documentation or gaps in accounting. 

GST audit preparation is a stressful and monotonous process, so it is recommended to engage GST specialists. The experienced professionals will detect the areas of concern and navigate you. Even prepare you on how to answer the IRAS officer’s queries with confidence.

What to anticipate during the GST audit?

The IRAS investigators check if supplies are correctly classified, GST properly accounted for, input tax claims are right and the values of purchases, supplies, and taxes are completely reported in the GST returns. The audit interview is conducted via letters, emails, faxes, and phones. The IRAS officer may even give your business premises a visit or request to meet the CEO. Currently, digital video interviews are conducted because of the COVID-19 situation. 

The information you will need to supply to the officer will include –

• Details about the business arrangement, administration, and supply of goods or services.
• Purchase and sales listing to confirm the precision of the figures submitted in the GST returns.
• Completed self-review checklist documents.
• Business transactions supporting documents associated with export and invoices. 

The IRAS officer may even seek information from banks, suppliers, and customers to confirm if the reported transaction is correct or not. Cooperate with the IRAS officers by offering them total access to your documents, records, and even premises. 

The office may interview your staff or you and even make copies of documents and records. Supply truthful and prompt answers whenever asked for information. Causing hindrances and failing to cooperate is a punishable act and the fine is $5,000 or jail.

Post GST audit

Several aspects can delay the audit length ranging from cooperation to the nature of your industry. The audit outcome is received after the conclusion. As soon as the audit outcome is received the company has 30 days [if necessary] to challenge the audit assessments and anticipated adjustments. 

The objections must be detailed and have solid grounds. Some objections with a reason that IRAS stipulates to be sufficient include –

• Assessment
• Registration or de-registration
• Claim for refund
• Security deposit needs
• Allowable input tax

If you disagree with the objection decision then you can file for a petition of appeal with the GST Board. 

Submitting wrong GST returns and penalties

If there is incorrect information in the GST returns then you can get penalized up to 200% of over-claimed or undercharged tax and/or imprisonment. Businesses committing fraud are handled more strictly.

Voluntary disclosure of errors in GST returns

Taxpayers can voluntarily report errors in their filed GST returns to correct. However, it should be in a self-initiated and timely manner. It means before receiving an IRAS query regarding the returns or audit notification. 

Did you know that people in the Balkans processed gold 6,500 years ago? Previously, the oldest discovered processed gold was the Varna Gold, considered the oldest gold objects in the world.

Where did gold come from, and what’s the history behind it? We dive deeper into the history of gold so you can find out.

Where Did Gold Come From?

As we mentioned above, a recent archaeological discovery uncovered a tiny gold bead in Bulgaria. It’s supposedly the oldest bit of processed gold in Europe and possibly the world.

Prior to this finding, the Varna Gold found outside the Black Sea port of Varna was thought to be the oldest found gold objects.

Archaeologists discovered 13 pounds of processed gold objects in the necropolis. The ancient people that lived in the area were understood to be farmers, and there’s still quite a bit of mystery surrounding their civilization.

The gold bead found in Bulgaria may push the processing of gold back 200 years.

Around 3600 BC, goldsmiths in Egypt would melt gold ore.

Spanish explorers also encountered the Inca people, who had a high appreciation for silver and gold. Gold was used for their ritualistic objects, in jewelry, and to make coins.

The precious metals silver and gold have historically proven themselves an excellent source of value.

Gold in the Earth                                            

There are two theories about how gold was actually first formed. One theory involves the explosion of supernova stars creating a nuclear fusion that results in gold. The other theory is that a collision of neutron stars resulted in a gamma-ray burst.

It’s unknown when exactly humans started to mine for gold. Gold mining is at least 6,500 years old if the oldest processed gold is correctly dated. Gold exists deep inside the earth, and it’s transported by volcanic eruptions, molten lava, earthquakes, and water.

Geologists have discovered gold rocks that are billions of years old. In fact, the Witwatersrand in South Africa holds the world’s largest known gold reserves. It’s a 300km radius crater believed to have been created by a meteor impact more than 2 billion years ago.

Gold Today

Is gold a good investment today?

Gold is as coveted now as it was thousands of years ago. In fact, many people invest in gold and precious metals as it’s a solid financial strategy. Whether you invest in gold bullions, jewelry, stocks, or other types of gold, it can be a great hedge against inflation and a store of value.

You can learn more about Gold IRAs and converting your IRA when you check out this link Raremetalblog.com/advantage-gold.

All That Glitters

All that glitters may not be gold, but you can rest assured gold itself remains a great investment. It’s as treasured today as it was thousands of years ago and likely will be for many years to come.

When other people ask, “Where did gold come from?” You can confidently tell them all you know.

To learn more bits of knowledge, be sure to check out some of our other posts. Our bite-sized articles are perfect for learning something new.

Saving up money for achieving a particular goal is a good feeling.  Doing so by looking for insurance coverage is one of the best methods to do so. However, if you reduce the coverage or even worse, drop all the essential coverages altogether without any second thoughts, the focus would be only on numbers and not on the results. You should never take the risk of ending up dangerously uninsured and waiting for bigger bills in case of a disaster. You could easily find the best homeowners insurance NY and cheap car insurance NY altogether from various insurance companies you could find online. However, you should carefully select an insurance company after having a clear idea about it. Look at some of the most common insurance mistakes people make in general.

•         Getting the home insured for its real estate value rather than for the cost of rebuilding

When real estate prices go down, certain homeowners think that they can reduce the insurance amount on their homes. Insurance is designed to cover the cost of rebuilding and not the sale price of your home. It should be made sure that you have enough coverage to internally rebuild your home and replace the belongings no matter how the real estate market performs. Raising the detectable is a better way to save on insurance premium payments.

•         Picking an insurance company only by keeping the price in mind 

It is essential to pick a company that offers competitive prices. However, you should be sure that the insurance you choose is financially strong and offers good customer service. You can save some money by checking the financial health of a company with agencies that rate independently. You could also check with family members and friends about their experiences with insurers. Pick an insurance company that would quickly respond to your needs and handle the claims efficiently and fairly. 

•         Dropping flood insurance 

Damage that occurred as a result of flooding would not be covered under standard homeowners’ insurance policies. However, some private insurance companies might provide cover for the same. You might not be aware that you are at risk of flooding but you should keep in mind that most of the flood losses occur in low-risk areas. Yearly weather patterns might also cause flooding. One of the good methods to save upon money is to check with the insurance provider to determine if the property is situated in a flood zone or not before you purchase the home so that you might want to consider purchasing a home in a less risky area. If you are already living in a flood zone, check the mitigation efforts that could drastically reduce your risk of flood damage and consider opting for flood insurance.

•         Purchase only the legally required amount of liability for your vehicle

You should purchase only the legally required amount of liability for your vehicle as it is the law. It means there are high chances for you to pay more out-of-pocket later. If you are sued, the course will impact your financial well-being. One of the good ways to save money is to drop comprehensive coverage on older cars that are less worth than $1000.

•          Neglecting to opt for renters’ insurance

Renters insurance policy would cover your possessions and additional living expenses if you have to move out as a result of ensuring disasters like hurricanes or fire. It also provides liability protection in case someone is injured in your home and decides to sue. One of the best ways to save is to opt for multi-policy discounts. If you buy several policies with the same insurer like auto renters and life insurance, it would generally provide savings.

 This could be the major and common insurance mistake people usually make. All of this could be avoided if you opt for the right agency from where you could get the type of insurance you need. Before you offer any kind of insurance, learn and read about it very well, about its benefits and drawbacks (if any) so that you could take advantage of the insurance at any point in time when the need arises. 

Opting for insurance is a method to save money. You would never know no and it would be tough to predict when you would require financial assistance. It might be during a disaster, during a health crisis or when sudden accidents or incidents occur. During such a crisis, rather than borrowing money from family or friends, you could claim the insurance amount so that you want to be in a financial crunch.

As the name explains, a SMSF or a self-managed super fund is a private super fund which you manage yourself, it is even called DIY super. SMSF set up provides their members flexibility, control and also choice on how their retirement savings must be invested. Other several reasons to choose SMSF are poor performance of any existing public fund and can be advice from a financial planner or an accountant.

In other words, a self-managed superannuation fund or SMSF with iCare can be the best way to build your wealth for retirement. Though they are not for all, it is essential that when you think of starting an SMSF, people must properly understand the responsibilities and benefits they take to have an SMSF. However, it must also be remembered that it is like an investment vehicle, and carries with it, several obligations as well.

Here are some amazing benefits of an SMSF:

• Greater flexibility of investment

SMSF members have better or greater flexibility on if they acquire and sell most of their investments and this great hand-on approach could mean, for e.g. as the market conditions change you could faster respond by simply adjusting your investment portfolio.

• Ability to pool your resourcez

Other outstanding benefit to an SMSF with iCare is the great ability to pool your resources with maximum to 3 other members. The increased pool might allow you to easily access the investment opportunities which might not be available to your SMSF otherwise.

• Investment control

Many superannuation funds would allow investing into assets like:

• Fixed interest
• Shares
• Property through managed funds (mostly with restrictions).

SMSFs could offer a wide range of additional options like:

• Physical gold and types of commodities
• Managed portfolios
• Direct property (residential or commercial)
• Collectables like artwork (that are subject to strict needs

SMFS benefits even include the great flexibility of borrowing with your fund for investment needs. A few small business owners might hold their business premises in their SMFS for various reasons that include succession planning, asset-protection and security of tenancy.

• Efficient tax management

You have better control of your investment decisions and assets in an SMFS that might allow you to perfectly manage the position of tax of the SMFS.

The rate of current tax on earnings in a superannuation fund is 15%, however where the income is often produced by assets, solely supporting an income stream like a pension, there will be no tax payable in the fund on that sort of income.

This difference in the tax rates simply means that by having a good control on the asset disposal, you might be able to reduce, or even potentially get rid of capital gains tax liability.

SMSF set up needs strict compliance with all government mandated regulations; therefore you must make sure to do it correctly, by speaking to the best SMFS setup specialist at iCare Super in Australia. So what are you all waiting for, start investing for your future needs today for setting up an SMFS, and if looking in Australia choose iCare as they offer comprehensive SMFS compliance service.