Bank finance articles and tips

Budgeting or financial planning involves estimating the amount of income and the expenses of the coming financial year. This is important in that it helps in the management of goods. It is able to make an enterprise to know what it can and can not be able to do together with its achievements at the same time.

The budget should be in a position to show the goals and priorities of the organization. This enables long term planning which will enable the organization achieve its goals. In order to be able to determine all the expenses and the income received the financial reports and records should be submitted to the finance committee at all the time. The committee should not rely upon the verbal reports of the manager, accountant or the bookkeeper as the main source of financial information....

Few words can conjure up that queasy feeling in your stomach more easily than the word "audit". The fact is the IRS conducts millions of audits or examinations each year for various reasons. If you recently received a letter from the IRS and are unsure what the next step should be, then hopefully this article will help inform you of your options....

The Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Form TD F 90-22.1 ("FBAR") is due June 30, 2011. This form must be filed by a United States person with a financial interest in or signature authority over a foreign financial account if the total value of all of the accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the year. This form is merely an information form. There is no tax due with this return.

This form must be received on or before June 30, 2011. There is no extension of time to file this return. Even if your individual income tax return is on extension, it doesn't matter. Please note it must be received by June 30, 2011, not postmarked. File this form with the Treasury Department, not the Internal Revenue Service. Unlike income tax returns, this form cannot be filed electronically. It must be mailed in. Caution should be exercised to assure the form arrives by the due date. As with other returns and forms, it is recommended that you send it "Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested"....

In addition to all of the subjects covered in enrolled agent training for helping individuals, several important tax matters are addressed for advising business owners. A most important area is tip reporting. Employers bear considerable responsibility regarding tip income.

Employees are supposed to report to their employers the total tips received in a calendar month as long as the amount exceeds $20. Tips of less than $20 per month are still taxable income that employees should reveal to their tax return preparers. However, tax practitioners with an enrolled agent education possess additional knowledge to help the employing businesses.....

In 2005 Congress reformed the Bankruptcy Code and created what is called the Means Test. One of the key components of the Means Test is the calculation of current monthly income to determination if someone has monthly disposable income. Disposable income is theoretically the amount of money someone can afford to pay back their debts each month. If there is disposable income, then that income should be paid to creditors in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case and a Chapter 7 bankruptcy should not be filed. So what is income when filling out the Means Test?

Generally all income earned or received during the six-month period prior to a bankruptcy case being filed must be included in the Means Test, or "All figures must reflect average monthly income received from all sources, derived during the six calendar months prior to filing the bankruptcy case, ending on the last day of the month before the filing. If the amount of monthly earnings varied during the six months, you must divide the six-month total by six, and enter the result on the appropriate line." The earnings listed is therefore a six-month average. The result of the six-month average can vary widely depending upon whether income is received from self-employment, or someone is employed and receives a salary that stays the same each month.