The standard rate allowed by the Internal Revenue Service for the business use of an automobile in the year 2011 is 51 cents per mile. (The rate for the year 2010 was 50 cents per mile.)
In addition to the standard rate of 51 cents per mile, you are also allowed to claim an expense for parking fees and tolls associated with the business use of your car.

An alternative to the standard rate per mile is to compute the business portion of the actual expenses for gasoline, repairs, insurance, depreciation, licenses, etc.
You can learn more about income tax issues at www.irs.gov

The word capitalize means to record the amount of an item in a balance sheet account as opposed to the income statement. (The accounts in the general ledger and in the chart of accounts consist of two types of accounts: balance sheet accounts and income statement accounts.)
To illustrate, let's assume that your company purchases a new computer printer for your office. Its cost is $700. If your company is a small company, it might capitalize the cost of the printer. That means the printer will be included in an equipment account and will be reported in the property, plant and equipment section of the balance sheet. Its cost will be depreciated over the printer's useful life. A larger company might decide that $700 is an immaterial amount and will not capitalize the printer as an asset. Rather, the large company will expense the printer immediately. (This larger company might have a policy of not capitalizing any asset with a cost of less than $1,000 because of the materiality convention. This is allowed because no reader of the financial statement is going to be misled because the $700 will appear in the year the printer is purchased instead of $140 in that year and $140 in each of the subsequent four years.)

Another example of capitalize involves leased equipment. If your company leases a forklift truck, is the lease a rental agreement, or is the lease really a disguised purchase and financing arrangement? If it is the latter, then the forklift truck and the lease should be capitalized. The forklift truck should appear on the balance sheet as part of the company's equipment, and the amount of principal owed needs to be reported as a liability on the balance sheet.

Bookkeepers perform a critical function for the firms and organizations they serve. Regularly challenged to maintain precise and accurate records, bookkeepers produce the vital reports that keep management up to date on the financial condition of their company.

Bookkeepers are responsible for maintaining the "business checkbook", much like a personal checkbook. They record routine money transactions like customer payments into a "cash receipts journal" and checks to vendors into a "cash disbursement journal." They also process payroll. At month end they transfer or "post" the "journal" totals to the "general ledger" in preparation for financial statements prepared by the accountant.

Accountants are responsible for the design and management of the financial systems that bookkeepers use. They prepare monthly financial statements and tax returns at year end. Accountants may also prepare budgets for management and loan proposals for bankers; and perform cost analysis for the company's products or services.

Trust, reliability and confidentiality head the list of qualities that employers look for when selecting and promoting Certified Bookkeepers. Strong organization and communication skills are also important. Not only are bookkeepers challenged to record routine money transactions, to reconcile accounts and to locate misguided transations, they also must be able to paint a picture--both verbally and on paper--of all the activities within their assigned area of responsibility.

You should take some time to focus on exactly what you need your tax accountant to do. Here are some common situations: •Preparing your own taxes is time-consuming, stressful, or confusing. •You want to make sure your tax returns are accurate. •Your tax situation is pretty complex, and you need specialized advice and tips. •You would like to pay as little taxes as possible, and need detailed planning and advice. •You are facing a tax problem, such as filing back taxes, paying off a tax debt, or fighting an IRS audit. •You run a business, invest in the stock market, own rental property, or live outside the United States.

The tax industry is constantly changing and tax professionals are subject to various federal and state regulations. Here are some questions you can ask to help ensure you find an experienced, trustworthy tax accountant:
•What licenses or designations do you have?
•How long have you been in the tax business?
•What tax issues do you specialize in?
•Do you have the knowledge and experience to handle my tax situation?
•What are your fees?
•Do you outsource any of your work?
•Do you perform the work personally? If not, what is the review process? Who signs the returns?
•How long, approximately, will it take to finish my taxes?
•What's your privacy policy? Will you share my tax information with any third-parties?
•Do you believe I'm paying too much, too little, or just the right amount of tax?

Tax accountants come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and have different attitudes about the US tax system. The last question on my list was adapted from the list of questions posed by Kerry Kerstetter, CPA. The idea is that you should find an experienced, competent tax accountant who specializes in the areas you need help with, and someone who believes in helping you to minimize your taxes.

Tip #1) Avoid tax preparation services such as H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt. Instead, put in the time and effort to find a good C.P.A. If you're serious about wealth building, then you need an accountant who's going to be available to you throughout the year, not just during tax season. Tax service companies open their doors during the weeks leading up to tax season and close them shortly thereafter. If in September, the IRS decides that they have a question about your 2009 tax return, it will be almost impossible for you to get in contact with the tax preparer who completed your return if you used a tax service. Instead, you'll be stuck playing phone tag with the tax service's corporate office. This is not a good position to be in when you're up against the Internal Revenue Service.

Tip #2) Don't make the mistake of not knowing ahead of time your estimated balance due or refund amount. Whether you make estimated tax payments throughout the year or have withholding from your payroll check, follow this link to access the IRS withholding calculator. The calculator will prompt you to answer a series of questions about your current tax situation including the amount of federal tax paid thus far, number of dependents, and your filing status. It will then provide you with an estimate of the amount you will owe or the amount to be refunded back to you at the end of the tax year. If you're unhappy with that amount, you have time to make the necessary adjustments. Be proactive.

Tip #3) Remember, the tax code changes from year to year. A deduction you were eligible to take in tax year 2008 may have been reduced or removed for tax year 2009. It pays to review changes to the tax code since your last filing. Click here to review the changes that could affect your bottom line.

Tip #4) With the unemployment rate approaching 10%, it is a given that 2009 was a difficult year for many taxpayers. Many of you may be looking to your 2009 refund to lighten your financial load. Just make 100% sure that you are not behind with your student loan payments or child support. If you are, the IRS will take your refund and apply it to what you owe the Department of Education or the state in which you owe child support. The process of getting back on track can take months, so start now.

Tip #5) RECEIPTS! RECEIPTS! RECEIPTS! As I mentioned previously, if your return is flagged for an audit, you'll need to document your deductions with receipts. Now is the time to start collecting and organizing your receipts, not mid April!

QuickBooks® and QuickBooks Pro® is easy to learn and use. No accounting knowledge is necessary. There is no need to understand debits, credits or postings, you just fill in familiar forms on screen like checks, invoices and other forms and QuickBooks® automatically helps do the accounting for you.

No, you will not lose your data. The process of upgrading from an older version to a newer version is pretty easy. The upgrade process forces you to make a backup copy of your QuickBooks data before it begins, so you have that available "just in case" something goes wrong (i.e. power outage during the upgrade, etc.). In addition, I know you follow good backup practices and have other backup copies available (you do back up regulary, don't you?)

The Accountant's Copy feature of QuickBooks® allows you to make a copy of your file to forward to us for changes and corrections (within certain parameters). The changes are loaded back onto your floppy and you restore it to your file. The changes made on the Accountant's Copy plus all the data you have entered in the meantime will be in your file.