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When someone applies for a loan and receives funding, it is the person’s obligation to repay the loan in monthly installments depending on the agreement. When small business owners use their credit cards to make purchases, there could be a temptation to ignore these monthly bills, but then the balance would pile up. In addition, the person’s credit could be adversely affected. It is advised that consumers treat their credit card as if it were a financed loan. If not, there may be a significant financial burden due to the interest and finance charges on the money owed.

Pay Your Monthly Statement

To ensure that you stick within a certain budget, you should assess your household and small business budget, figuring out how much money you are obligated to pay back to the financial institution prior to receiving your first monthly statement. When you get your bill, don’t just pay the minimum amount on the statement. Instead, if you can afford to, double the payments. In doing so, you will pay off the balance sooner and it will improve your credit score. Learn more about how to create and manage a budget.

Don’t Overextend Yourself

When you are applying for a loan, it is better to only take the exact amount that you need. The same is true when using a credit card. Use only the amount of money that you know that you can pay back. Don’t overextend yourself financially but paying for things you can’t afford. If at all possible, you should try to maintain a balance of less than thirty percent of the credit limit.

Are You Reaching Your Credit Limit

If you find that your balance is approaching close to your credit limit, then it is time to react. Why? Well, this is a warning sign to your creditors that you are strapped for cash. It can also reduce your credit score. Eventually, it would harm you financially when you get ready to apply for a business or personal loan. If you have to maintain a balance above thirty percent of your credit limit, you should at least make sure you pay an extra amount on your balance each month, in addition to the minimum.

Balance Transfers

Many Americans and business owners carry one or more credit card debt. Some people will use balance transfers to consolidate their debt. It is not uncommon to have balances transferred from one credit card to a low interest card or zero-percent interest card. This helps to save on interest charges and makes repaying your credit card much more convenient since you only make one payment each month on one credit card. Make sure that the transfer fee is no more than three percent. Secondly, you should ensure that the credit limit is sufficiently high to accommodate the entire balance.

Business Credit Card

Be aware that if you carry a business credit card and you want to get a second card for a staff member or partner, you may be charged an additional fee. Generally, both the cardholder and the business entity will be liable to pay the monthly bill.
Now that you know how to use your credit card wisely, speak to one of our Denver tax professional at Bloch, Rothman, and Associates in order to prepare your business taxes or to utilize our payroll services. We have the tax professional to help you with all of your questions. Call us today at 303-321-7160.

No residential or commercial property owner looks forward to paying property taxes, especially because it sometimes feels like the amount you have to pay is completely out of your control. But, is it possible for you to lower your property taxes? Possibly, if you follow these tips provided by a Denver tax specialist:

Do your research

Do you even know why you’re paying what you pay every year in property tax? Probably not, so take the time to do a little research to get a better understanding. Visit your local town hall and ask for a copy of the property tax cards, which contain information that has been gathered on each property in the city. It is essential that you carefully review the information on your property’s card to ensure it is accurate. If the square footage of your home is really far off, or if the card lists special features that your home does not have, this could explain why you are paying so much in property taxes. Note any discrepancies you find and then contact the tax assessor right away to have your taxes adjusted.

Look at your neighbors

While you’re looking at property tax cards, you should also research your neighbor’s homes to determine how much they are paying in taxes. Try to find a comparable home, so choose one with approximately the same square footage and special features. If the two numbers are not close to each other, something may be wrong with one or both of the property assessments, so bring this issue to the tax assessor.

Don’t make any changes

Have you been thinking of installing a pool in your backyard for your kids? Or do you want to finally add more square footage by building a garage or other structure? If you want to keep your property taxes where they were last year, don’t make these changes. But, if you can’t hold off any longer, try to contact your city’s tax department to get an estimate of how much these changes will affect your property taxes. Once you have all of the information, you can make an educated decision on whether or not this is worth it.

Do a walk-through with the assessor

Instead of completely ignoring the assessor and letting him wander around your property aimlessly, do the walk-through with him. If you go with him, you can help him spot both the positives and the negatives about your home so the tax assessment is more accurate. Tax assessors tend to only notice the special features such as the pool, upgraded kitchen, and marble around the fireplace. They may fail to see the leaky plumbing or missing shingles on the roof that will lower the value of your home, and therefore lower your property taxes as well. Answer the question, “what does a county assessor do?” here. Bloch, Rothman & Associates, Ltd. is a full service accounting firm offering personal and affordable Denver tax and accounting services for individuals and businesses. Contact Block, Rothman & Associates in Denver for a free initial consultation.

When you own a business, it is important to have a payroll system set up and it does not matter if you have one staff member or thirty. A payroll system streamlines the ability to remain current with all the regulatory and legal duty as an employer. It also saves time and allows you protection from the costly penalties that the Internal Revenue Service can charge. How do you set up your payroll system if you have a small business? Below are several suggestions that can help you.

The EIN Number
Your EIN or Employer Identification Number is important to your small business. This is easy to obtain from the IRS website and it is free. You must get this done prior to hiring any employees. The EIN is the same lingo as your Employer Tax ID number. It is essential to have one when it is time to report your taxes to the IRS or when you have to correspond with the IRS or any other state agencies. It is easy to apply for one online. Make sure to check your local government to see what else, if any, you need to file your business taxes. Every state is different.

Employee or Independent Contractor
It is also important to know the difference between hiring an independent contractor and hiring an employee. Sometimes, legally, it is not distinctly clear and may impact your withholding income taxes as well as how you are supposed to pay Medicare, Social Security and unemployment taxes.

Employee Documents
Be sure to handle employee paperwork efficiently, keeping them filed away and safe for recordkeeping. Your newly hired employees have to complete Form W-4, which is the Federal Income Tax Withholding form. This is important so you can accurately take out the right federal income tax from the salaries of your employees.

The Pay Period
You should make a decision on how you will structure the pay period for your employees. Make sure you choose a period that works for everyone. Most pay periods are weekly, bi-weekly and monthly. Whether your employee works the complete pay period or not, you still have to withhold their income tax as is required by law.

Tracking Hours
Although, this is not legally required, it would be to your advantage to set up a payroll system to include the compensation terms for each employee, tracking their hours, paid time off and determining how overtime is paid. Be sure to include business deductibles, premiums for health plan and retirement contributions.

The Right Payroll System
Select the right payroll system, which will require keen attention to detail as well as accuracy. Choose the method that allows you to do this. You can consider using an outsource payroll service or hiring in-house staff. No matter which option you select, as an employee, you are the person responsible for the paying and reporting of all of your payroll taxes.

An accountant is one of the main professionals who can assist you in operating an efficient payroll system because of their knowledge, expertise and experiencing in choosing the right forms and record keeping. Bloch, Rothman and Associates offer Denver payroll services to locals. Contact them at 303-321-7160 for a free consultation.

A lot changes when you head off to college. This may be the first time you’re away from your family and financially supporting yourself—not to mention the first time you file taxes. Filing can be very confusing, especially if this is your first time. Before you have to file taxes next year, make sure you read through these tax tips for college students from a Denver accountant: Understand Your Filing Status
The first thing you need to do as a college student who is filing taxes for the first time is figure out whether you are a dependent or independent. Parents can claim their children as dependents until they are 24 if they are students, so talk to your parents about whether or not they are listing you as a dependent on their tax return. If you are a dependent, you won’t be able to take advantage of any credits or deductions that your parents are already claiming on their return. Tuition Credits
If you are paying your tuition or any other college-related expenses, you may qualify for a few different tax credits. The American Opportunity Credit is available to students in the first four years of their undergraduate studies as long as they have a modified adjusted gross income of under $90,000. If you qualify, you could receive a credit of up to $2,500, so this definitely one you should look into. The Lifetime Learning Credit is worth $2,000 per year, but you don’t have to be an undergraduate student to qualify. Learn more about the lifetime learning credit. If you don’t qualify for either one of these credits, talk to your accountant about whether you are able to deduct any tuition or college-related expenses you’ve had to pay out of pocket. Scholarships
Were you awarded a scholarship? If the money you receive is used to pay for tuition, textbooks, and other school-related expenses, it is considered tax-free. However, if any amount of the scholarship money is used to pay for your living expenses, you will need to report it as income on your tax return. But, the full amount of the scholarship does not need to be reported—just the amount you used on living expenses. So, if you received a $10,000 scholarship and spent $9,000 on tuition and $1,000 on groceries and rent, only the $1,000 would need to be reported as income. Start Saving
College is about learning new skills that will help you launch your career, so the last thing you’re probably thinking about is retirement. However, it’s never too early to put some money aside for the future, so every college student should consider saving a little bit every month in an IRA account. Anything you contribute to a traditional IRA is deductible, so you can save now while you save for the future. Are you in college and about to file taxes for the first time? Get help from the professionals. Bloch, Rothman & Associates, Ltd. is a full service accounting firm offering personal and affordable Denver tax and accounting services for individuals and businesses. Contact Block, Rothman & Associates in Denver for a free initial consultation.

Going from a full-time job to being a retiree can mean major financial changes. You will most likely have to cut back on everyday expenses and be more frugal—but one expense you can’t escape is your taxes. Here are tax tips for retirees from an accountant in Denver:

Understand What’s Taxable

Many retirees are completely unaware what is taxable and what’s not, so it’s recommended that you meet with an accountant in Denver to go over your tax situation after you retire. Traditional IRAs and income from dividends or interest are all taxable, so if you use any of these sources to finance your retired life, make sure you realize you will have to pay taxes. However, some accounts, such as Roth IRAs, are not taxable because you paid into them using after-tax money. Understand the difference between a traditional IRA vs. Roth IRA.

Deduct Medical Expenses

It’s no secret: the older you get, the more medical expenses you will incur. But, did you know many of these expenses are tax deductible? If you are a retiree, don’t forget to deduct any expenses you have paid for in-office copays, prescription drugs, and Medicare premiums. But, these deductions don’t apply to all retirees. If you’re 65 and older, you can deduct these expenses if the total cost you paid is at least 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.

Donate to Charity

Money may be tight when you’re retired, so giving to charity may be the last thing on your mind. However, you don’t have to open your pocketbook in order to take advantage of charitable tax deductions. All you have to do is clean out your house and donate any items you don’t want—just make sure you get an itemized receipt as proof. This will help you save money on your taxes while also tidying up your home.

Deduct Your Mortgage Interest

If you’re a retiree who is still paying a mortgage, it’s important to deduct your interest payments from your taxes to save money. Even if you’re not paying a lot in interest because you have almost reached the end of your mortgage payments, every last dime helps, so don’t forget about this important deduction.

Start Early

If you have your eye on retirement, be sure to plan how you will pay your after-retirement taxes ahead of time. Begin putting money aside while you are still employed so you don’t have to panic to pay your annual tax bill. Although many advisers recommend thinking about retirement in your 20s and 30s, it’s ok if you don’t give it a second thought until you’re in your 50s. This still gives you plenty of time to put funds aside that will benefit you once you retire.

Are you retired or thinking of retiring? Don’t file your taxes on your own. Bloch, Rothman & Associates, Ltd. is a full service accounting firm offering personal and affordable tax and accounting services in Denver for individuals and businesses. Contact Block, Rothman & Associates in Denver for a free initial consultation.