The TaxCred Academy

Credit and Debit cards are convenient ways to pay for purchases at restaurants but one thing that many consumers forget to do is fill out the receipt completely. Since so many consumers do not check their bank and credit card statements on a consistent basis, many of you may have been scammed or victims of tip fraud and not aware of it. Have you been to Fridays or Beggars Pizza? The waiter or waitress brings your receipt;  well many of you skip THE MOST important step which is filling out the tip line. If you are leaving the tip in cash and not applying that to your card purchase you ALWAYS want to fill out that line so that no one can go in and fill out that line for you. Below is the correct way to fill out a receipt from a restaurant or fast food establishment. Example 1: There have been many cases when reviewing a clients bank statement and the receipt amount does not match up, well 80% of the time it was because there was an additional tip amount added to

A wise man (Jim Rohn) once said, "if you will use your gifts they will make room for you". I truly can see the power of that statement now. I have talked to so many people over the last 2 years about my passion for financial education, and now that I have started my business so many doors of opportunity are opening for me. Its exciting and scary all at the same time but I wouldn't change it for the world. One of best best friends and business partner Eric introduced me to a magazine called Success. It changed my life and my perspective as to how i would move forward with my GIFT. My gift is I have knowledge about financial management and banking tips. I am always sharing the importance of understanding money and how it works. Unfortunately in a lot of households in the African American community it is not "taught" how to save $$, the importance of keeping good credit, etc. Many know how to spend it well cars, clothes and rims is the stereotype but to be honest I

A good way to stay on track with your bills is to write it down in your check register. For those of you with bank accounts there is a blue check register that I know many of you can't find it or it's consumed with dust :). But dusty or not when you receive your paycheck enter in the deposit of your payroll, then before you spend any money write down all the bills that you need to pay out of that check. Example: Balance 200 Deposit Payroll 1500 bal 1700 Mortgage/Rent 800 bal 900 Comed 45 bal 855 AT&T 100 bal 755 you get the point but now as you see the balance that you have available to spend after you pay your bills is $755.00 That is how you want to see your register. If you follow this tip I guaranty you will see an improvement on how you spend and budget. Taking small steps today

Ten Facts about claiming the Child Tax Credit provided by the IRS IRS Tax Tip 2010-45 The Child Tax Credit is a valuable credit that can significantly reduce your tax liability. Here are 10 important facts from the IRS about this credit and how it may benefit your family. 1. Amount - With the Child Tax Credit, you may be able to reduce your federal income tax by up to $1,000 for each qualifying child under the age of 17. 2. Qualification - A qualifying child for this credit is someone who meets the qualifying criteria of six tests: age, relationship, support, dependent, citizenship, and residence. 3. Age Test - To qualify, a child must have been under age 17 – age 16 or younger – at the end of 2009. 4. Relationship Test - To claim a child for purposes of the Child Tax Credit, they must either be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister or a descendant of any of these individuals, which includes your grandchild, niece or nephew. An adopted ch

As a Self Employed Business Owner...there are several tax breaks that you can take advantage of....here are 3 of the most popular tax breaks 1. Home Office deduction : If you have a home office there are several expenses that you may write off on your tax return. If you have an office inside your home and that space is dedicated solely to your business then you may write off a percentage of your mortgage or rent payment, gas, light and phone bill. You may also write of any other services that you use for that office space. You will need to measure the office space by square feet, subtract the office space from the total square footage of your home. This will determine what the actual percentage of space that is used for your home office. Then you can deduct that portion from your home bills i.e the mortgage, gas, phone payments and etc. Example: total sq ft of home is 1200sq ft your office space is 300sq ft 2. Health Insurance Premiums: If you are self employed and paid your own healt