If your corporate minutes are inaccurate or incomplete you can harm many things in your business.  Corporate minutes are written records of your shareholder and board of directors meetings.  These are crucial for your corporation.   When kept properly, corporate minutes can help protect personal assets of the owners and officers.  Inaccurate or incomplete corporate minutes can expose your corporation to damaging lawsuits and IRS audits.

The IRS can reclassify compensation; expenses and loans paid to shareholders as taxable income and include taxes and penalties if there are discrepancies within your Minutes.   You can also become personally liable in the event of a lawsuit because corporate records can easily become discovery in the event of a lawsuit.

Nevada State Corporate Network specializes in keeping corporate records for you and your corporation.

Various benefits of such vital corporate meetings are as follows: -

• Legal business paperwork offers the authentic record of the business meetings, decisions taken and included proceedings.
• Many banks, financial institutions and escrow companies demand written documents from the small or medium corporations to assess decisions related to your corporation
• The corporate minutes’ records can convey your corporate decisions in a much better way to the shareholders.
• States more often than not require corporate records to be kept in order.

Nevada State Corporate Network, NSCN, can assist you in keeping your corporate records accurate and up-to-date to help you avoid unnecessary and messy turmoil.

For more information on any of these services please call toll free 1-800-324-5013 to speak with one of our knowledgeable consultants at Nevada State Corporate Network between the hours of 8-5 Monday through Friday.

You can well estimate and understand the importance of what is called the nominee service for corporations by the fact that it is being practiced in the Nevada State Corporate Network for past 75 years. Yes, this is the bare fact! This service which must be practiced by all corporations offers the nominee name and sign in the space given in the form and thus, it becomes liable for the nominee officer or director. He will not be responsible for relishing any services, tasks and duties for the corporation at any cost and that; he or she will receive the gratitude mentioned as in the laws of Nevada State. In fact, a nominee Officer or Director is the individual who will stand against the ruling member of the corporation or business entity in the absence of the business owner. He has right to own and control the business pursuits and deals in the corporation.

Apart from offering you a unique service on the nominee basis, the corporations will further provide you an advanced layer of protection in terms of asset protection and privacy terms. The companies assures the business owner as well as the nominee to assign one of the associates to stand with you at the time of distress or any problem so that you always remain secure and you may work freely in the interests of corporations. Under the supportive laws related to nominee officers, NSCN allows the sole corporation owner to retain all the rights and writs so that you will be free to take any financial decision, signature rights and all sorts of lease arrangement.

You are also righteous to vote the nominee officers out of the corporation if they are not working up to the mark or in the interest of company. Nevada State Corporate Network has such rules and provisions active even for the small business owners.

Pay Yourself First and Reduce Your Taxes: Retirement Saving Plans

There are several ways to defer taxes on current income that have strings attached. The most popular are the retirement savings plans. By saving money in a Retirement Savings Plan now, like a SEP-IRA or Individual 401 (k), you can reduce your taxable income in the current year.

Congress has been adding to and changing the rules on existing retirement plans trying to increase the US savings rate. The good news is you can get more bang for your buck as self-employed than you can as a regular employee when it comes to getting your retirement savings to reduce your current year’s income taxes. To get more information see IRS Publication 560, Retirement Plans for Small Businesses.

Briefly, options are the traditional and Roth IRAs, SEP-IRA, Qualified Plans, and the new individual 401 (k). For example, the maximum contribution for the Individual 401 (k) is $44, 000 in 2006 (subject to income limitations). That will go a long way to reducing your tax liability. Be sure to check the requirements deadlines for setting up and funding the plan and the limitations on withdrawals before you get started. Usually any withdrawal prior to the year you turn 59 & ½ are subject to a 10% penalty. Each plan has different rules for exceptions to the 10% penalty rule.

The Home Office Deduction: A Factor of Your Self-Employed Business.

It seems like everyone who starts a business wants to take the home office deduction. There are some definite problems to watch out for with the home office deduction. The biggest one is the IRS itself. Deducting your home office an increase your chances of an audit. Additionally, if you elect to depreciate your home office, you may incur additional taxes when you sell your home. Take a look at IRS Publication 587, Business Use of Your Home for all the hairy details of the Home Office Deduction. Note these rules apply to all three options, W-2, 1099, and Corp-to-Corp.

The standard qualification test is: You must use part of your home exclusively and regularly as your principal place of business. “Exclusively” means just that! If you use the same space to pay your personal bills, call your mom to wish her happy birthday, or it doubles as a guest room…You’ve just blown the qualifier and you can’t take the deduction.

Is the Home Office Deduction worth it?

First, you have more forms to fill out:

• Form 8829, the form to list the home office expenses
• Form 4562, if you depreciate the business portion of your house.

The major expenses of your home are likely to be the mortgage interest and the property tax. You can only deduct this once, so you need to allocate the portion of these expenses that apply to the personal and business portions of the house. The personal part goes on Schedule A as part of your itemized deductions; the business part goes on Form 8829. (The allocation is usually done on a square footage basis.) So unless your itemized deductions are being limited, you don’t get any additional tax benefit because you can deduct these on your Schedule A anyway.

The other things you can deduct, like insurance, utilities you have to allocate between personal and business, too. So, say you spent $1400 on home owners insurance and $3000 on utilities (excluding telephone) and your business use of the home is 10%. That gives you a deduction of $440. If you’re in the 25% tax rate, that’s a total tax savings of $110.

This is where your personality comes into play. Personally, the $110 isn’t enough for me to risk the red flag this may raised when the IRS is looking for returns to audit.

Depreciating Your Home Office

You are allowed to expense in the current year the portion of your home used for business purposes. You have to depreciate the home over a 39 year period. Here’s a simplified version of the formula used to calculate the depreciation expense:

[(basis of your home-land value at purchase) X business use %] / 39 years.

Example: you started your business on January 1; you purchased your home for $250,000 and land value was $75,000 and your business use percentage is 10%. You’re looking at $449 annual depreciation expense. [($250,000 -$75,000) * 10% / 39] If you’re in the 25% tax bracket that equates to $112 in income tax saving.

If you decide to go ahead and depreciate your home office for 10 years, you’ve depreciated $4490 of the value of the house. Now you decide you want to sell it. That $4490 is not eligible for the value for the $250,000 exclusion on the sale of your primary residence and you must pay taxes on that amount when you sell the house. So unless you plan to live in your home until you die, the home office depreciation deduction is really a deferral of taxes.

If you’re really up on being self-employed, you’ll know that any deduction will also save on self-employment taxes. The $889 home office deduction in the example above ($440 for insurance & utilities and $449 for depreciation) will also save you about another $127 in self-employment tax. Now we’re up to a total tax savings of $349 in the current year.

For more information on any of these services please call toll free 1-800-324-5013 to speak with one of our knowledgeable consultants at Nevada State Corporate Network between the hours of 8-5 Monday through Friday.

To Your Success,

Susan Zapper

CEO of Nevada State Corporate Network

Zapper Credit Solutions

Check out Part ONE,  Part TWO and PART THREE of this series on how to pay yourself.

Starting Your Self-Employed Business

If you manage to make a 1099 arrangement you don’t need to do anything special to get started, at least as far as the IRS is concerned. Your state, county or city may require you to get a business license or make a Fictitious Name or DBA (Doing Business As) Statement. You’ll need to check with your local government agencies to find the requirements in your area.

One advantage is you can start right away; you can deposit your checks right into your personal checking account. Although, if you can find a no fee checking account it will make your bookkeeping a lot easier if you have a separate bank account for your business and pay all your expenses from this account. You can keep track of your books in something simple like Quicken or MS-Money.

Filing Your Income Taxes

 As far as taxes go, you should receive a 1099-MISC from your employer indicating the payments made to you for the calendar year. This is what people are talking about when they say they are “going 1099”. What they are really saying is you’re a self-employed sole proprietor and the client is required by IRS regulations to report the amounts they pay you on Form 1099-MISC. They report this amount both to you and the IRS. You report the income and deduct expenses that are directly related to the business on Schedule C. The net income from your business will flow through to your 1040, line 12 and you will pay tax on the net income at your personal marginal tax rate.

Income

The IRS will match the total income you report on your Schedule C to the total of all 1099s you receive. If you under report your income the IRS will come knocking on your door looking for a good explanation.

Expenses

 As a contractor, expenses usually don’t amount to much compared to the income most professionals receive. Any expenses incurred to purchase books, subscriptions, professional organization dues, education for maintaining and improving your skills, etc. are all deductible. If you have a second phone line dedicated to business use, you deduct all expenses for that line. However, if you have only one land line in to your home, you can only deduct charges for specific calls you can identify as business-related. Your client may require you to get business liability insurance and those premiums are deductible. If you hire a bookkeeper, payments to that person are deductible, too. As are any amounts you pay to have the Schedule C, SE, and related tax forms prepared as part of your personal return. If you have to purchase equipment look into the Section 179 election which allows you to expense in the current year amounts paid for new equipment used in business.

For more information on any of these services please call toll free 1-800-324-5013 to speak with one of our knowledgeable consultants at Nevada State Corporate Network between the hours of 8-5 Monday through Friday.

To Your Success,

Susan Zapper

CEO of Nevada State Corporate Network

Zapper Credit Solutions

Check out Part ONE and Part TWO of this series on how to pay yourself.

The second part of our series discusses determining whether you should be a 1099 employee of your company or a W-2 employee. In this article Nevada State Corporate Network details the pros and cons of each type of payment.  Many prefer the W-2 method or the corp-to-corp- method, but this guide will make it easy to determine the best method in for your unique situation.

The Three Options
The three options (W-2, 1099, and Corp-to-Corp) vary in complexity with W-2 being the simplest. You need to weigh the benefits of each approach and pick the one that fits you best.

W-2
If you’re the kind of person that has no assets to protect, hates record keeping, procrastinates until 11:59 pm on April 15th, and would rather take a beating than fill out a government form, you should consider W-2. You may not find the extra protection and savings worth the demands of incorporation.

1099
There are downsides to operating as self-employed individual that will probably lead you to choose one of the other two options, including (1) your tax return is more likely to trigger an audit by the IRS than any of the other options, and (2) you have no liability protection.
Corporation-to-Corporation
In exchange for modest record keeping demands, you receive the maximum in personal protection and tax savings. Incorporation is almost always your best option.

W-2 Employee: Pros
• Easiest and simplest option.
• No bookkeeping needed other than submitting time sheets.
• Some limited benefits may be available.

W-2 Employee: Cons
• Limited ability to defer income if a 401(k) benefit plan is unavailable.
• Deductibility of un-reimbursed business expenses and medical insurance premiums are very limited.
• Getting health insurance coverage if none is provided will be a challenge.
• Any benefit package is likely to be less generous than if you were a regular employee of the client.

Any way to Reduce Your W-2 Taxes? Few, if any.
Your ability to deduct un-reimbursed business expenses is only available on amounts over 2% if your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). Medical expense deduction, including premiums, is limited to amounts over 7.5% of AGI. (Note: any premiums paid with pre-tax dollars are not eligible for the deduction.) You may be able to defer some income by contributing to a traditional IRA that can help reduce your AGI.

1099 Self-Employed Sole Proprietor
Definition:
A sole proprietorship is an unincorporated business that is owned by one individual. It is the simplest form of business organization to start and maintain. The business has no existence apart from you, the owner. Its liabilities are your personal liabilities. You undertake the risks of the business for all assets owned, whether used in the business or personally owned. You include the income and expenses of the business on Schedule C of your own tax return.

1099 Pros:
• Easy to get started.
• Easy to discontinue when your contract ends.
• Losses might be used to offset other income (limits apply).
• Small business retirement plans offer the opportunity to defer more current income than traditional IRAs.
• You might be eligible to take the Home Office Deduction.

1099 Cons:
• Unlimited liability for the owner.
• All profit is subject to self-employment tax in addition to the income tax.
• More administration and bookkeeping than W-2 option.
• You must make quarterly estimated tax payments.

Most companies are wary of going 1099 to an individual. The IRS can review your situation after the fact and decide you were really an employee and nab the company for back payroll taxes and massive penalties. Therefore, to limit their exposure, most companies prefer either W-2 or Corp-to-Corp relationships.

All these decisions are important when determining the pathway for your business.  We suggest you call the experts at Nevada State Corporate Network to help you make the right decisions for your business.  We are experts in corporate structure and will help you become successful.  Call our experts at 1-800-324-5013 8am-5pm Monday-Friday.

After you have determined how to pay yourself, please read our next article about setting up your Self-Employed Business.

Determining your salary is one of the most difficult and important decisions to make when starting your business. We here at Nevada State Corporate Network consult with small business owners everyday and find the topic of salary to be the most confusing for new business owners.
We will be addressing all of the major issues dealing with employee and personal salary over the next few weeks with a series of Articles. You will learn about all of the pros and cons of each method and how to decide how and what to pay yourself.

To begin you must first decide if you are an independent contractor and have the ability to determine your own pay.

Are you an independent contractor?
The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if the organization for which he or she performs services has the right to control or direct only the result of the work, and not what will be done and how it will be done. You are an independent contractor when the business that pays you has no control over your methods, and is limited only to defining the specific results you must accomplish. The determination of whether an individual is an employee or independent contractor depends on the facts in each case.
Note that employees are bound by certain legal requirements and are entitled to specific benefits that are not available to independent contractors. In addition, employers are required to pay taxes on employee wages. The distinction of independent contractor from employee is critical to the IRS and your state employment and worker’s compensation authorities.
Also, understand that the criteria used to determine independent contractor status may vary significantly between state and federal agencies. In IRS Publication 1779: Independent Contractor or Employee?, the IRS lists the following criteria:
• Behavior Control: A worker is usually classified as an employee when the business has the right to direct and control the worker. The business does not have to actually direct or control the way the work is done as long as it has the right to direct and control the work.
• Financial Control: Does the employer have the right to direct the financial part of the work? For example, if your have significant investment in your work and your expenses are not reimbursed, you may be an independent contractor. If you can realize a profit or incur a loss you may be an independent contractor.
• Relationship of the Parties: How do the parties view their relationship? Does the business provide insurance and paid time off? If you have these, this is an indication you’re an employee. A written contract may show what the parties intend if it the relationship is otherwise unclear.
Once you’ve determined that you are correctly classified as an independent contractor, you can address the “how do I get paid” question.

For more information on any of these services please call toll free 1-800-324-5013 to speak with one of our knowledgeable consultants at Nevada State Corporate Network between the hours of 8-5 Monday through Friday.

To Your Success,

Susan Zapper

CEO of Nevada State Corporate Network

Zapper Credit Solutions

Here at Nevada State Corporate Network & Zapper Credit Solutions we have a step-by-step proven system to build business credit separate from your personal credit. With our program you’ll have access to vendor & business credit cards that report exclusively to the business credit reporting agencies.

Now is the time to join the thousands of business owners and entrepreneurs who have already taken advantage of the one-on-one help, training, and expertise of our business credit specialists.

As a member of our credit building program you’ll have UNLIMITED access to our business credit training, coaches and funding consultants. When you work with our corporate coaches they’ll teach you how to set up the proper corporate structure and show you how to shield yourself from liability and help you to reduce your tax burden. As a business owner, it’s not how much you make but how much you keep that counts. Our experts specialize in business structuring and asset protection. They’ll be able to help you with entity structure, corporate compliance, bank account set-up, bookkeeping consulting, accounting, tax strategies, business credit, financing and funding for your business.

As a member of Nevada State Corporate Networks business credit program you’ll have access to business funding sources that could help you with your immediate needs for working capital, equipment leasing, accounts receivable financing, payroll, auto leases and more.

We can also assist you with setting up your business websites, creating an easy to follow page for you and your customers.  We can also provide social media marketing for your business. We will get your business set up on the following social media sites with integration on your business web site: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Buzz, MySpace, and WordPress.  Our I.T. department creates a fully integrated social media structure for you. And with our unique Patent-Pending Software Program you will only need to log into ONE account in order to update all six accounts at once, saving you time, money, and effort.  Our social media consultant will walk you through all of the social media sites laying out an easy-to-follow strategy to help you find more customers.

For more information on any of these services please call toll free 1-800-324-5013 to speak with one of our knowledgeable consultants at Nevada State Corporate Network between the hours of 8-5 Monday through Friday.

To Your Success,

Susan Zapper

CEO of Nevada State Corporate Network

Nevada State Corporate Network

I would like to say that I originally signed up after hearing about “Zapper Credit” on Sirius Satellite Radio. I called and spoke to some sales reps and signed up on one condition of getting to put on fast track to $1 million line of credit.

Fred Seymour stepped in and realized immediately that there was a misunderstanding here and that given our background and history that a million dollar line of credit was not a reality. Fred actually went above and beyond the call of duty and pulled the D&B report of our company and sent it to me. We discussed it and said given our credit score which is very good there isn’t a huge amount that you all could do for us. Yes, you could help a bit, but not to the point of meeting my expectations.

Fred cheerfully got my money refunded, something I’m very grateful for. This refund is NOT a satisfaction issue. It’s just a misunderstanding that Fred was able to skillfully clear up. The end result is a very happy prospect. Frankly, I am amazed at Fred’s character and honesty. It proved to me that the silly things that are said on the web about your company are unfounded and wrong. It’s not often that you find people that follow through and conclude a transaction with as much skill and grace as Fred exhibited. If I find myself in need of credit as my business becomes more entrenched over the years, I will be calling NSCN first! Also, I won’t hesitate to recommend your company to any entrepreneur.

I’m truly grateful and ecstatic about the service and understanding.

All the best,

John Vanderwall

www.skyviewpartners.com

Chief Operating Officer