My biggest triumph for 2005 was fulfilling my 2 biggest business resolutions. I attended the IVAA Summit in October and I got all 3 of the certifications I was aiming for. I received the CVA and EthicsCheck certifications earlier this year and in December I obtained my CRESS (Certified Real Estate Support Specialist) designation. Yay!

In this issue:

I hope you enjoy this month's issue! I am always looking for articles. If you have an article you would like to write, please feel free to email me at candy@offassist.com

Self-Employment Tax
by Mark Bacak

Who must may self-employment tax? If you are self-employed, you will be responsible for self-employment tax. For the purpose of determining self-employment tax, you are self-employed if you are a sole proprietor, an independent contractor, a member of a partnership, or are otherwise in business for yourself. As a self-employed individual you will have a Schedule C to attach to your Form 1040, and self-employment tax is computed on Form 1040, Schedule SE. Individuals must pay self-employment tax is they have net earnings of $400 or more. They are several sources of net earnings that are used when figuring your self-employment tax liability. In most cases, net earnings include net profit from a farm or nonfarm business.

If you operate more than one business, your net earnings from self-employment are the combined net earnings from all your businesses. If you have a loss in one business, it reduces the income from another. Self-employment tax is the self-employed individual's contribution to social security and Medicare taxes. The only difference between the employee and the self-employed is the employee's social security and Medicare taxes are paid half by the employee and half by the employer. When an individual is self-employed, he/she is responsible for the entire amount.

There are alternative methods that can be used for figuring liability of self-employment tax. The Farm Optional Method and the NonFarm Optional Method may qualify an individual to claim a larger Earned Income Credit or Child Tax Credit. They may also, however, increase your self-employment tax liability.

The maximum amount of earnings subject to self-employment tax is currently $87,000.00 and when figuring your adjusted gross income on Form 1040, you may deduct up to one-half of your self-employment tax liability. If you are member of the ministry or clergy you may request an exemption from self-employment tax from the IRS.

In summary, if you are self-employed, have net earnings of $400 or more, and file a tax return, you will be subject to self-employment tax. To learn more about individual liabilities, exemptions, and alternative tax methods, please visit the online site for IRS Forms and Publications at www.IRS.gov. Topic 554, Publication 517 and 533 will provide more detailed and situation specific information.

Matt Bacak became "#1 Best Selling Author" in just a few short hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s e-Biz radio show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories. Discover The Secrets To Unleash The Powerful Promoter In You! Sign up for Matt Bacak's Promoting Tips Ezine ($100 value) just visit his website at http://www.powerfulpromoter.com or http://promotingtips.com

To All Employees:

Due to increased competition and a keen desire to remain in business, we find it necessary to institute a new policy.

Effective immediately, we find we must ask that somewhere between starting time and quitting time and without infringing too much on the time usually devoted to lunch period, coffee breaks, rest period, story telling, internet browsing, ticket selling, golfing, auto racing, sporting events, vacation and the re-hashing of yesterday's T.V. programs, that each employee endeavor to find some time that can be set aside and known as a WORK BREAK.

To some this may seem a radical innovation, but we honestly believe the idea has great possibilities. It can be an aid to steady employment and it might also be a means of assuring regular paychecks.

While the WORK BREAK adoption plan is not compulsory, it is hoped that each employee will find enough time to give the plan a fair trial. It is also hoped that those employees not in favor of adopting the WORK BREAK idea will have fully completed their vacation plans.

-The Management