Tax Tips: Medical Expenses Tax Credit
8 Top Notch Information Resources for Small Businesses
As a small business owner, business blogger and service provider to other small business, I’m always looking for resources that will help me improve my own business, and provide insight into the latest developments, innovations, tools and guidance on financial and tax matters. Over time, I have bookmarked a list of the resources that I visit frequently:
The Importance of Staying on Top of Your Tax Obligations
Revenue Canada recently put out a press release about a Sarnia businesswoman who pleaded guilty for failing to file 23 individual, corporate and sales tax returns from 2003 to 2009. She ended up being fined $1,000 per count for a total of 15 counts (Penalties were not applied to the 8 outstanding GST returns). She has 12 months to pay the total $15,000 fines and was ordered to file the outstanding tax returns before November 6th, 2011. In addition to this fine, she is also responsible for any taxes payable and related interest and penalties that would be imposed by the CRA for late filing and payment.
Quickbooks Online Banking: Setting Up, Deleting Matched Transactions and Manually Uploading Web Connect or Excel Files
15 Canadian Small Business Facts and Figures
Is Wave Accounting Software a Good Fit Your Small Business
5 Notable Disclosures in Groupon’s Financial Statements and What They Mean.
Since Groupon first submitted its S-1 filing in June, 2011, there has been a wave of negative sentiment around Groupon’s upcoming IPO. Many analysts believe that not only is Groupon not a good investment at the approximate $20 Billion + that its IPO’s initial share price will value it at, but is in fact on the brink of insolvency. They are also some that do not believe that, in the long run, Groupon’s business model is profitable .
In an effort to determine whether Groupon is in fact a raging buy or, as alternatively presented, on the verge of insolvency, I have undertaken an analysis of their latest S-1 , which was filed with the SEC on August 10, 2011. The document, which is required by all companies who want to file an initial public offering, comprehensively reviews its operations, long term viability, business risks (which are numerous) and its financial condition. Some of the more interesting discoveries, as they relate to the 6 months ending June 30, 2011, are presented below:
Apple Vs Google: Comparison of Quarterly Results (Infographic)
20 Interesting Financial Facts About Google
Private Health Service Plans (PHSPs) for Small Businesses and Sole Proprietors: How to Make Medical Expenses Tax Deductible
One of the perks of being an employee, in many cases, is that your employer will provide health insurance benefits. Whether they pay for all of the premiums or only a portion, this can help to mitigate the costs significantly. Although, Canadians do have the luxury of Medicare, this is often inadequate and as anyone who has ever waited in an emergency ward can attest, may require you to take days off just to have your condition diagnosed (if one wants to look at this positively, it can be a great time to catch up on the classics). While the discussion of our Medicare system is a discussion for another time and another blog, the point is that having health insurance of some variety can help make the process a lot less painful. If you are self employed or a small business owner, however, the cost of health insurance can be prohibitive as you do not benefit from having a policy covering a group of people (thereby spreading the cost which is essentially how insurance companies work). On a personal level, Revenue Canada does provide for a tax credit, but this is only beneficial if your costs exceed 3% of your taxable income (up to approximately $2,000). Additionally the federal credit reduces your income taxes payable by 15% of the excess of medical expenses over the three year threshold. Eg. if your taxable income is $50,000 and your medical expenses are $2,000, your net federal reduction to your taxes payable is$2000 –( $50,000X3%) = $500X 15% = $75.00. This is very small relative to the actual expenses incurred.
So, how can a small business owner or self employed individual convert their medical expenses into business expenses? The answer is to use what is known as a Private Health Insurance Plan or a PHSP.
How to Be Less Forgetful: 17 Task Tracking Tips for Business Owners
Memento (Chris Nolan’s masterpiece) is the story of a man who suffers from short term memory loss i.e. he can’t remember anything for more than 15 minutes. This makes his life somewhat complicated, in that he needs to come up with a system to track his memories. Interestingly it also simplifies it as having no memories allows him to live his life entirely in the present. One of the many brilliant aspects of the film is that every time you watch it, it is a slightly different movie, as the memory of it does what memories do – they fade and dissolve and meld with other memories leaving us with an impression which is different from the actual events as they unfold. This is why eyewitness testimony is often unreliable, and individuals’ recollections tend to vary significantly.
Our particular ability to remember … and forget is unique to all of us. Some of us never forget a face while being hopeless with names. Others have trouble with appointments or where we left our keys. I often have trouble finding the right word or forget the entire plot of a movie or book. (Not to mention chunks of my life that are completely missing). Unfortunately , these memory malfunctions tend to get worse with age, so it is important to find ways to fend them off. From a work and business perspective, forgetting something important can have severe consequences. Below are some ideas to help you keep track of your tasks:
RRSP Facts and Figures: Infographic
The Parable of the Toy Soldier: How a Small Gaming Business Became a Victim of their Own Success.
This story has all the ingredients of a great novel - drama, intrigue, the Chinese, hostile takeovers and a guy named Lonnie. It has shaken the world of miniature gaming, where excitement is usually imagined rather than real. And, although the details are murky, it is an excellent case study that demonstrates how mistakes made by business owners can result in severe and unintended consequences.
On January 17th, the founder of Wargames Factory, Tony Reidy issued an open letter:
Wai Kee Hui - if your true intention is to salvage this company and pay back the debts - you have started down the absolutely wrong path.
I understand that this is so far beneath you because you run so many multi-yuan millions businesses - but if you want to salvage anything, you are proceeding in the absolutely worst direction right now.
Your faith in Lonnie Mullins is incredibly misguided. You're trusting a guy who threw me under the bus in order to save his own skin. A guy who has no honor whatsoever.
Read full letter Open letter from Tony Reidy
How to Update Quickbooks for the 2011 QST Rate Increase
Update: As of January 1st, 2012 the Quebec Sales Tax (QST Rate) which had gone up from 7.5% to 8.5% on January 1, 2011 will now increase to 9.5%. The effective sales tax in Quebec will go up from 13.925% to 14.975%. Since QST is calculated on the net amount + GST, the effective rate is actually 14.975% (and not 14.5%) . In other words the effective QST rate is 9.975%. The instructions below are equally applicable, except the new QST rate to enter is 9.5%.
On January 1st, 2011, Revenue Quebec will be increasing the QST rate to 8.5% (yay!), bringing the effective rate of QST to 8.925% andtotal sales taxes (GST and QST) to 13.925% (since the QST is actually charged on the net price + GST.) This will impact anyone who charges QST including small businesses and self employed individuals, and invoicing software and processes should be updated to reflect the change. Suffice it to say that there are no major changes in the application of the rates. For those of you using Quickbooks you will need to update the QST being charged on both sales and purchases.