How to Get the Deduction

How do you apply for this deduction? If you’re self-employed, you want to fill in Schedule C of the IRS tax code. If you are an employee, then Form 2106 will have all the necessary paperwork.

This deduction also works for farmers who have to use vehicles to go in their fields, to pick up supplies a town or two over, and other farming-related driving costs. If you are a farmer, you will want to use Schedule F–an IRS tax form–to get reimbursed for your legitimate expenses.

Calculating the Deduction

There are two options for how you can calculate your deduction. The first is if you keep track of the number of miles driven over the course of a year. The rate is then based on how many miles you drove.  Since this is a lot of work keeping track, you can also choose a standard mileage rate as the second option instead. This, however, has many complications, but I’ll get to the bottom of them right now.

Yes, There’s a Catch

First, you aren’t allowed to be driving your car for the purpose of making money. For instance, a taxi driver can’t claim the standard mileage rate. Also, you can’t drive more than five cars or have other people in the business drive them for you. This is designed to stop large scale car or truck fleets from being able to deduct their mileage under business expenses. Rural mail carriers also aren’t eligible for using this as a business expense. The tax deduction for using your car for work is designed to benefit small business owners and everyday workers.

Then you need to deal with the intricacies of the tax code. If you claimed a deduction using the MACRS (Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System) in a previous year, then you aren’t eligible. If you filled one of these forms out, you will probably know or you will (hopefully) have it on file. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of this form because then you likely are so far in the clear for getting your reduction. Finally, if you claimed a deduction under Section 179 in the past, then you can’t use this deduction.

Follow the Rules and Save Money

Running a small business, it’s important to save money wherever you can. Take your tax deduction, find low cost auto insurance, and keep your car well-maintained to keep the lowest overall operating costs.

AutoInsurance.Info helps individuals and businesses get cheap auto insurance quotes by letting them search rates from several insurance companies at once. 

In order to get the best value for your money, be certain that you shop around for a loan that fits your criteria and is offered from a reliable and stable lender.

Before you take out any loan, there are a number of things you should take into careful consideration. First, you should figure out how much money you will need to borrow.

If you have some money saved, or your know that you will have some money saved before applying for a loan, remember that often the more money applied as a down payment towards your purchase, the less money you will actually need to borrow.

Next, consider what will be the likely interest rate for your loan. For home loans, the interest rate is based on the TBD and the credit score(s) of the loan applicant(s).

The interest rate for automobile loans is based on the credit scores of the loan applicant(s). Student loan interest rates are often lower than home and auto loans and again, are based on the applicant’s credit score.

The higher the credit scores, the better chance you will have for obtaining the best possible interest rate. The lower the credit scores, the more likely that your interest rate will be higher. The lender considers lower credit scores riskier, so they charge you for their risk.

Make sure you understand the length of the loan you wish to obtain. In other words, is the entire balance due in 10 years, 20 years, 30 years? Do not borrow money that you do not feel you will be able to repay within the stated time frame.

If you prefer a 10-year loan, you will likely be stuck with a higher interest rate than if you take out a 30-year loan. A loan repayment calculator can help clarify your total amount due.

Find out what your final balance will be, including interest, at the end of the loan’s time frame using a loan repayment calculator and you may be surprised at how much you end up paying back.

Read the fine print, find out if there are any penalties or hidden fees. Make sure that you are able to pay off the loan early without paying a penalty fee. Find out how much a penalty you will be charged if you miss one payment, or make a payment later.

Sometimes, lenders have the option to sell your loan to another lender. Educate yourself about the details of your potential loan. Ask the lender any and all questions you have before signing on the dotted line.

Your loan should only be obtained from a financially secure, federally insured, reliable lender. Ask trusted friends and colleagues to refer you to a reliable lender.

Take out the loan with the lender who best fits all of your criteria after doing as much research as you can.

Also, consider using a loan broker. A respectable, quality loan broker may be able to get you the best loan.

 Post by MoneySuperMarket

Make a Plan

Knowing ahead of time what you’re going to do, and when you’re going to do it, can not only save you time, but money. The first thing you should do is make sure your schedule is arranged properly. That means timing your move from your old address to the new one. If you can arrange to move directly from the old place to the new one without a waiting period you can save a lot of money on storage costs.

Create a Budget

Create a budget for moving expenses. Make a list of all the expenses you anticipate, leaving a bit of room for unexpected costs. Include such things as moving company expenses, including any special handling costs they may charge, and extra insurance that will ensure everything you’re moving is properly covered. If you’re moving yourself you will more than likely have to rent a truck, van, or trailer. Carrying an appropriate amount of insurance for this endeavor is necessary. In either case, the best course of action is to shop around for the best rates. Call a variety of moving companies or truck rental agencies to get the best price. When creating your budget for moving yourself, be sure and factor in such things as the price of fuel and any special moving equipment you may require.

Options

If your move is necessitated by work, it may be possible to get your employer to pay for some of the moving costs. If the move is made for some other reason, this won’t apply, but there still may be ways to save a bit of money. Borrowing a truck instead of renting one may be an option. Also, asking friends and relatives to help in the move would save considerably on labor costs. You can throw a party or have a barbeque to thank them for them time and effort. Pack carefully, but be as frugal as possible. Use bubble wrap or newspapers to pack your things in cardboard boxes. You should be able to get some boxes from local grocery or department stores. Make sure you pack carefully, and transport and stack the containers as cautiously as you can.

Transfer Services

When moving from one place to another, you will undoubtedly suffer a disruption of the services that make your home life pleasurable. It’s only natural that you won’t have access to the normal conveniences, such as cell phone, cable, or internet service. In order to ensure you will have the service you’re used to, and take for granted, it would be a good idea to make arrangements for your cell phone, cable, and internet providers to make continuing service available to you by setting you up at your new location. Contact your service providers and inform them of your move. Let them know the dates the service should be stopped at your present residence and when it should be made available at your new home. Making these plans ahead of time will not only save you the hassle of arranging the service when you get to your new home, but may also save installation charges. Contact your cell phone, Internet, and cable providers for their advice on the protocol for making those services available without disruption.

Before the Move

In order to make the move as quick and painless as possible it might be a good idea to get rid of anything you don’t use anymore. If you have five bicycles in the garage, but only use two of them, it would be a good idea to sell a couple. Consider having a garage sale to avoid the expense of paying to have things moved that you only use once in a while, or not at all. It will not only save the cost of moving them, but will save on storage costs, as well.

Guest post from Karen Schweitzer. Karen writes about internet service for Internetserviceproviders.org.

Have you ever locked your self out of your car? How about lose the keys to your house? If you have, then you know how much of an inconvenience it can be, not to mention how much money it can cost. With a little preparation you can save yourself the headache and a few bucks. Having spare keys is simple, inexpensive and should only make sense.

I learned this the hard way a few years ago when I lost all my keys. I was out shopping when it happened and could not get into my car, house, and a few other private places I needed keys to open. The taxi ride home, a locksmith to open my house, and taxi ride back was over $100 and I still had to buy spare keys to replace to ones I lost. Needless to say it was not a good day. I have since learned my lesson and am ready if this was to every happen again.

A little safety advice: Don’t hide your spare key above the door frame or in one of those fake rocks as this is one of the first places a thief would look. Instead trade keys with your spouse, family or trusted friend. I keep the spare key to my car wrapped in plastic and taped to a metal rod under my car and it has come in handy more than a few times. You would really have to be searching for it to find it. I am sure you can come up with better places to keep your spare.

It is not just about having spare keys, but how being prepared can save you money in many aspects of your life. I guess the lesson here is to try and be ready for life’s little hurdles.

]]> http://www.jinij.com/spare-keys-can-save-you-money-or-being-prepared-for-lifes-hurdles/feed/ 0 http://www.jinij.com/living-frugal/ http://www.jinij.com/living-frugal/#comments Sat, 26 Dec 2009 21:52:45 +0000 Daniel http://www.jinij.com/?p=524

Many people think being frugal is under tipping waiters, haggling prices, buying the cheapest items, and just being cheap overall. While this is true to some extent, it is really about getting the best quality and the most quantity for your money. It is not another way of saying cheap, but the line is thin and easily blurred. Frugal people are very conscious about what they spend their money on, they are economical and tend to live a less wasteful life.

Personally speaking, Living frugal was a way of life when I was young. We had no choice but to make the most of the little we had. Creating new and interesting recipes from the little food that we could afford, was just a part of life to us. Back then we just called it being poor. Now that money is not a issue and I can afford to buy what I want, I find that I don’t really want to buy much. Yes, there are somethings I would buy now that I couldn’t before, like a plasma TV, but that is to be expected. I really don’t see the need to have one of every gadget and things like doing my own laundry and cooking has become things I enjoy.

The rewards of living frugal can be great. For instance, the less you waste the more you can save and the more environmentally friendly you will be. Most self made millionaires are frugal by nature according to the book “The Millionaire Next Door.” They clip coupons, shop at thrift shops, buy in bulk, and waste as little as possible. They also claim their frugalness played a big part in their success.

I find it ironic how, most of the people that need to incorporate a little frugality in their lives are the ones that fashion it as being cheap. I think the world can learn a few thing from people that practice frugal living and be better off for it.