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Bookkeeping Basics E-Zine, Issue #002 --, Happy New Year 2009!
January 02, 2009
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Bookkeeping Basics EZine

Bookkeeping Basics E-Zine, Issue #002 -- Happy New Year 2009!



Bookkeeping Basics E-Zine brings you valuable bookkepeing tips, income tax advice and the latest additions to one small business owner's experiences with "bookkeeping and tax preparation".

If you like this e-zine, please do a friend and me a big favor and "pay it forward". If a friend did forward this to you and if you like what you read, please subscribe by visiting...

Bookkeeping Basics E-Zine



In this issue...

NEWS

1) The New Year 2009....Hopes for the year and preparation for the tax season. And you?

2) Tax Law Changes Reduce Taxes Next Year

ARTICLES

1) About SBI

RESOURCES

1) Find a Job

2) Tax Organizer

3) Tax Deduction Lists

4) Online Tax Preparation

5) Free Service Sellers Master Course

In every issue....

1) Questions and Answers

2) Quote of the Month

3) Contact Me



NEWS

1) The New Year 2009....Hopes for the year and preparation for the tax season. And you?

A time for reflection, a time to plan, here's my New Year's message to you...

Goals and Advice for the New Year

It shares my personal and business plans for the New Year. And it asks you to share yours (optional, of course!).

2) Tax Law Changes Reduce Taxes Next Year

Lawmakers have passed more than 100 new tax law changes that could help millions of individual taxpayers save money on their taxes this coming season.

"With more than a hundred pro-taxpayer credits and deductions, many taxpayers will qualify for new benefits that may not have been available last year," said Jackson Hewitt Tax Service vice president of tax resources Mark Steber in a statement.

"Taxpayers affected by these changes could see significant savings, and with the current recession, it is even more important that taxpayers get all of the tax benefits they deserve."

Steber outlined some money-saving tax law changes for 2008, including:

* Economic Stimulus Payment and Recovery Rebate Credit: This initiative is a two-phased program consisting of the economic stimulus payment and the recovery rebate credit. Phase one was the economic stimulus payment which was an advanced payment of the projected amount of recovery rebate credit available on the taxpayer's 2008 return.

Phase two is the 2008 component of the program, so taxpayers who did not receive their full economic stimulus payment in 2008 may qualify for the remainder as a Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2008 tax returns.

* Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act: Homeowners who experienced foreclosure on their primary home can exclude the canceled debt amount from their taxable income.

* Housing Assistance Tax Act: Taxpayers who pay real estate taxes and are not otherwise eligible to itemize deductions can increase their standard deduction amount by the lesser of real estate taxes paid in 2008, or $500 ($1,000 if married filing jointly).

* Additional Child Tax Credit: The Additional Child Tax Credit is a refundable credit. This year, the income threshold has been decreased to $8,500 from $12,050, allowing certain taxpayers to qualify for up to $533 more per child in a potential refund.

* First-Time Homebuyers Credit: Taxpayers who purchased a new home for the first-time after April 8, 2008, may qualify for a refundable credit up to $7,500. Part of the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act, this refundable tax credit works like an interest-free loan for all qualified taxpayers. The credit must be paid back in equal parts over a period of 15 years beginning in 2010.

Lawmakers also extended several expired tax benefits, including:

* Tax-free charitable donations for taxpayers 70.5 or older who choose to direct up to a $100,000 donation from a traditional or Roth IRA directly to a charitable organization.

* A two-year extension of the Educator Expense Deduction, which allows teachers an above-the-line tax deduction of up to $250 for out-of-pocket classroom expenses.

| * A two-year extension of the Qualified Tuition Deduction, which allows students to directly deduct up to $4,000 of qualified tuition and fees paid to a college or trade school.

* A two-year extension to the sales tax deduction. Taxpayers can claim the greater of their state and local income taxes paid or their state and local sales taxes paid when itemizing deductions. This is of particular interest to taxpayers that live in states with little or no income tax and those that purchased high-ticket items during the year.

ARTICLES

1) About SBI

SBI! makes online business success do-able. Anyone can succeed with the Site Build It! all-in-one process, tools, and guidance.

As I've been working on the change from running an offline business to running a successful online business that has shown increasingly good results, people have been asking me how they can achieve a similar level of online success with their business.

How did you build a high-traffic website? How do you make money online? What do I have to do to quit my day job and have a home based business of my own? Will you mentor me?

These questions have propelled me to write this article to introduce you to the practical solution I have found for people who want to build a successful online business of their own without getting lost on a mountain of technical details, using essentially the same business model I used to build Bookkeeping-Basics.net.

Click here to learn more about SBI

RESOURCES

1) Find a Job

A lot of people are hurting right now in these tough times. Close to 2 million Americans have lost their jobs, and every one of them should be coming out of the new year especially hungry to get back to work. In anticipation of the many great, qualified applicants among you that may be hoping to find that job, here is a great resource to help you achieve that goal!

2) Tax Organizer

For my existing tax clients, your personal tax organizer will be in the mail this week. For everyone else, please feel free to utilize this tax organizer to help you prepare for the new tax season.

Click here for the Tax Organizer

3) Tax Deduction Lists

Tax time can leave you full of questions about what kinds of expenses are deductible. The income tax forms and tax deduction lists you find here will help you determine your income tax deductions.

Click here to find out more...

4) Online Tax Preparation

If you like to prepare your own online income taxes, do it with the help of Turbo Tax. This online tax preparation software is affordable and easy to use, offering e-file and fast refund capabilities. You can learn more about the programs they have available at:

Learn more about TurboTax

5) Free Service Sellers Master Course

Attract new clients from around the world...Or, around the block. This is a do-able 10 day program of building income through content that I am happy to be able to offer to my newsletter readers for FREE!

Service Selling Masters Course Download your Free Service Sellers Master Course here



Questions and Answers

Are you having difficulties with Bookkeeping? Here on the Q and A page, you can ask a question about any area of bookkeeping and income taxes. It's free and easy to do.

Click here to find out more...



Quote Of The Month

"The past is history. The future is a mystery. Today is a gift. That is why they call it the present." - Master Oogway



Comments? Ideas? Feedback?

I'd love to hear from you. Just reply to this e-zine and tell me what you think! Or, click here to Contact Me.

See you next month!

Stephanie

www.Bookkeeping-Basics.net


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