More Tax Advice
Thanks Patti Leonard
Here are some great tax tips - remember visit a certified tax professional - these are ONLY intended as starting points to help you prepare for your tax appointment.
Time is running out to place your orders to start 2004 with a bang - and a 2003 tax deduction.
It's that time of year… we need to get organized!! This is sometimes a challenge for us as Mary Kay Consultants…. the very thing that makes us so good at what we do also can make us SO BAD at paperwork! We are people people… not paper people! Below are some suggestions to help you muddle through the maze and get off to a good start in the year 2004! Remember though… I am NOT a CPA!
Things change from year to year! This is meant as a guideline of information to take to your tax person!
Take inventory as soon as possible if you haven't already. Be sure to add on any products owed you by other consultants. If you begin after the first of the new year, and you have sold anything in the new year, add that in also! Do not list anything that is not on the current order sheet. The best way to take inventory is to take a current order sheet and just list the total number of each products in the quantity box. Don't bother sorting out the fresheners, masks, shadows, etc. It doesn't matter how much of each individual item you have. You just need a total. For example, you would count just total foundations, total fresheners, etc. If you owe anyone any merchandise or if anyone owes you merchandise, get it straightened out now! Borrowing and lending is a no-no! It is just not professional! We all run short of something and an occasional trade is ok, but if you are trading for basics, you don't have enough inventory! Be sure all your summary sheets are up to date! This is YOUR record of your sales! Attach tickets for each week to the summary and, by the way, if you haven't turned in that summary, just make a copy and send it to me! (Did you know that your summary is the verification you need for the IRS for your sales and if you were ever audited, you might need MY records! If I haven't received your summaries, I don't have them on record!) Be sure you have a record of your mileage as you begin 2004 . If you forgot to take it, then estimate what it was on January 1. Put the mileage at the top of the order form you are using to list your inventory. Gather up all your receipts for 2003 and if they are in a muddle, just stuff them all in an envelope for now and seal it up. Mark it "2003 Receipts" and promise yourself that you will spend a little time each week getting them in order so you don't have it all to do on April 14. Then get set for 2004 by setting up an easy system. Establish a file for all of your 2003 records. When your 1099 form comes from the company or any other W-2s arrive, you'll have a place to put them. Start NOW to find someone to do your taxes. Every year I have someone call me to tell me that their business did not help with their taxes. Inevitably, they have done it themselves or have had a tax preparer who was not sufficiently familiar with direct sales! It is VITAL that you have someone do your taxes who knows the score! All tax preparers are not created equal! The little bit of money you spend with a good tax preparer will more than be made up in the amount of tax you save! Remember that you will pay someone based on the mount of time it takes them to do your return. If you go in with complete records and categories totaled, it will cost far less than if you just show up with boxes full of tickets and receipts. If you aren't sure of what kind of receipts to save, save everything. You also need the following for your Office In Home deduction…. your homeowner's insurance, property taxes, total spent for water, electricity, carpet cleaning, pest control, painting, …. in short… anything you do to your home as a whole or to your office in particular. My theory has always been….if in doubt, KEEP IT! Your tax preparer can tell you what is and what is not deductible. The basic rule of Mary Kay record keeping is the KISS method! Keep It Simple, Sweetie! You can spend HOURS on record keeping - or- you can set up a simple system and keep up with it weekly in just a few minutes! Remember, you are not making any money when you are shuffling paper or keeping records! Do the necessary minimum, but do it regularly!