Bank finance articles and tips

A law enforcement career is demanding enough without having the additional complication of detailed IRS tax preparation rules. Several tax-deductible employee expenses are common for police officers. Keeping an organized record of receipts for work-related items is sufficient for law enforcement personnel to maximize the advantages of hiring a paid tax preparer professional.

Employee expenses are one of the categories of miscellaneous itemized deductions. Taxpayers who itemize deductions are eligible for incremental tax savings with each additional deductible item....

When you are drowning in credit card debt, sometimes it can seem as though bankruptcy is the only possible outcome. However, many card banks do offer alternative arrangements, including partial credit card settlement, workout agreement, or even simply a short-term bill reduction. These arrangements can make the difference between bankruptcy and keeping your finances afloat.

While these alternatives do sound like the perfect solution, there is a catch: credit card negotiation can be a long, arduous process. It is something that consumers can tackle themselves, but those in debt should expect to face a series of long phone calls and a frustrating search for random details of your financial history.

In my experience the standard of record keeping in small businesses has deteriorated over the years with many business owners trying to maintain their own records but with little success.

So what is good record keeping according to HMRC? They have been quoted as saying that "An accurate record of business money in and business money out in whatever form...will be all that is needed to fulfil the record keeping obligations that the law requires. Good record keeping is essentially about diligence, not technical ability."

I always tell clients that it does not matter where and how they record their business transactions as long as it is complete and accurate. Today it should be easier with the raft of computer programmes but the adage garbage in garbage out comes to mind.

So what is the problem? Last February HMRC announced a Business Records Check programme where they are to review the adequacy and accuracy of the records kept by 200,000 small and medium sized firms over the next four years.