1. Don’t Forget You Still Have UK Tax To Pay!

Arguably, this is more of a warning than a tip, but it is vital to remember that any UK resident individual buying property abroad is still exposed to UK tax on that property. This may include UK Income Tax on rental income, UK Capital Gains Tax on property sales and UK Inheritance Tax on any foreign properties you leave to your children.

The UK tax burden is often greater than any foreign tax liabilities, so it makes sense to undertake UK tax planning for your foreign property. Many of the same planning techniques that work well on UK property can be used equally on foreign property, although the overseas angle adds an extra dimension and brings both additional opportunities and additional pitfalls to be wary of.

2. Main Residence Relief for Foreign Holiday Homes

There is nothing in the UK tax legislation to say that a foreign holiday home cannot be a UK resident individual’s main residence for Capital Gains Tax purposes.

A holiday home can be treated as your main residence by making an election to that effect, generally within two years of buying the property.

The foreign property must be your own holiday home for at least part of the time but, by making the election, you will be able to exempt some or all of the capital gain on your foreign home from UK Capital Gains Tax.

Beware, however, that you’re only allowed one main residence and, if you’re married or in a civil partnership, you’re only allowed one between you, so electing to treat your holiday home as your main residence could backfire if you sell your main house back in the UK.

You can get the best of both worlds though, if you only elect to treat your foreign property as your main residence for a short period, say a week. How does this help? Well, since every main residence is also exempt for the last three years of ownership, that week buys you three years. In other words, you lose one week’s worth of exemption on your main house but gain three years (and a week) of exemption on your foreign holiday home.

3. Travel at the Treasury’s Expense

If you’re renting out foreign property, you have a foreign rental business. Like any other business, you’re entitled to claim tax relief for your business expenses. That includes any travel costs which you incur for business purposes.

Furthermore, all foreign property rentals are treated as one business. Hence, for example, you could claim the cost of going to Dubai to look for a possible new rental property against the rental income from a villa which you already have in Spain.

4. Understand the Local Taxes

Most countries will tax foreigners on any property they own in the country. Local taxes often apply to property purchases and sales and to rental income. Furthermore, you will often have to pay annual taxes on foreign property, even if you do not rent it out, and many countries also have gift and death taxes.

You will get double tax relief in the UK for any foreign tax on the same income or capital gains when the UK accepts that the foreign tax is broadly equivalent to the UK tax you are paying.

Beware, however, that every country has a different tax regime and not all of them are compatible with the UK tax system. If you suffer a foreign tax which is different in character to any UK tax, or which arises when no UK tax is due, you may not get any relief for it in the UK.

So, a foreign tax at 30% which is deductible from your UK tax liability on the same income may actually cost you less than a foreign tax at 10% for which no double tax relief is available. All these factors need to be considered before you invest in foreign property.

5. Do You Want Double Tax Relief?

As a general rule it is usually worth claiming double tax relief for any foreign taxes whenever you can. By claiming double tax relief, you deduct the amount of foreign tax paid from your UK tax liability.

However, you cannot get any repayment of foreign tax through a double tax relief claim and the best you can ever do is to reduce your UK tax liability to nil.

Sometimes, the foreign tax may actually exceed the amount of the taxable income or capital gain for UK tax purposes. In these situations, it is better to claim the foreign tax as an expense rather than to claim double tax relief.

Where you claim foreign tax as an expense, it reduces the amount of the taxable income or capital gain and can even create a loss. This loss can be carried forward to give you future tax relief and hence, in some situations, can actually give you better value for your foreign tax than a double tax relief claim.

6. Reduce Your Foreign Exchange Tax Risk

All UK tax calculations for individual taxpayers are carried out in pounds sterling. This creates some particular problems when it comes to capital gains on foreign property. You may make very little gain in the local currency, but when you translate your purchase and sale costs back into sterling, you may have a big Capital Gains Tax exposure in the UK.

Let’s say you buy a property in Utopia for 100,000 Utopian Dollars at a time when the exchange rate is two Utopian Dollars to the pound. That means you have a purchase cost of £50,000.

Later, you sell the property for 120,000 Utopian Dollars. In local terms, you have a modest gain of 20,000 Utopian Dollars. However, let us suppose that the exchange rate is now 1.2 Dollars to the pound. This means that your sale proceeds for UK Capital Gains Tax purposes are £100,000 and you have a taxable gain of £50,000.

Maybe that’s fair: after all, if you bring the money back to the UK, you will have made a profit of £50,000 on your investment.

Beware, however, that if you hang on to your Utopian Dollars, they will become a new chargeable asset for UK Capital Gains Tax purposes and may give rise to a capital gain or capital loss when you eventually spend them or exchange them into sterling or any other currency.

The real problem to watch is that if you make a capital loss on your foreign currency in a later UK tax year (year ended 5 th April), you will not be able to set that loss off against the earlier capital gain on your foreign property.

The tax tip here, therefore, is to make sure that you dispose of your foreign currency sale proceeds in the same UK tax year as you dispose of the foreign property itself.

7. Get VAT back with leaseback

In the UK, we are accustomed to the idea that any purchase of residential property is exempt from VAT. This is not the case in every country, however, and many European countries charge VAT, at rates of up to 20%, on new residential property purchases.

One way to recover the VAT on such a purchase is to enter into a ‘leaseback’ scheme. Under these schemes you, the owner, lease the property back to a hotel operator. This means that your property becomes a business property and you are able to recover the VAT. Typically, you are allowed a few weeks of personal use of the property each year and, eventually, after a suitable number of years, it is yours outright again.

The scheme only works for certain types of property, such as hotel rooms and apartments, and may carry disadvantages for other foreign taxes, such as higher Income Tax rates; so it’s one to investigate carefully before you sign up.

8. Borrow to Save

Many countries impose Wealth Tax, Inheritance Tax, or both, on foreigners owning property in their country.

Wealth Tax is usually an annual charge on the property owner’s net wealth in the country.

Foreign Inheritance Tax also usually applies only to a foreigner’s net assets in the country.

In most cases, you can reduce your net wealth in the foreign country for tax purposes by taking out a mortgage on your foreign property. In this way, it will usually be just your net equity in the property which attracts foreign tax.

If you don’t actually need a mortgage, you can invest the borrowed funds somewhere else outside the country where your property is located.

9. Avoid Evasion

When you buy property in a foreign country, you will usually also be acquiring tax obligations in that country. In fact, many countries require prospective foreign property purchasers to register themselves with the local tax authority before they can complete their purchase.

If you want to sleep at night, you need to make sure that you fulfil your local tax obligations in the country where your property is situated. Many foreign tax authorities have the power to seize property where taxes are unpaid.

Naturally enough, the local tax authority will write to you in their own language. Do not ignore this correspondence just because you don’t understand it: this is no defence. You will need local help and advice to make sure that you deal with the local tax authority appropriately and meet all of your obligations as a taxpayer in the country.

10. Expect the Unexpected

If the UK tax system is all Greek to you, or seems like Double Dutch, why should you expect foreign taxes to be any different? Every country has its own tax and legal system and, when you buy property abroad, you must abandon all of your preconceptions.

Assume nothing until you have investigated the local tax system thoroughly. Your destination country will have different taxes, different tax rates, a different tax year and a whole different set of rules, regulations, reliefs and exemptions.

Local property law and succession law is likely to be different too and a UK investor who overlooks this fact may suffer a great deal more than just tax!

Your tax allowances are added up (in most cases this will just be your personal allowance and any
blind person’s allowance, in some cases it may include certain job expenses).

Step two

Income you’ve not paid tax on (for example untaxed interest or part-time earnings) and any taxable employment benefits are added up.

Step three

The total amount of income you’ve not paid any tax on (called ‘deductions’) is taken away from the total amount of tax allowances (worked out as above). The amount you are left with is the total of taxfree income you are allowed in a year.

Step four

To arrive at your tax code the amount of tax-free income you are left with is divided by 10 and added to the letter which fits your circumstances.

Example: The tax code 117L means that you are entitled to a personal allowance of £1,170 and therefore, any amounts earned above this threshold in the current tax year will be subject to income tax.

How the ‘K code’ works

If your deductions (untaxed income on which tax is still due) are more than your allowances you’ll be given a K code, to ensure you pay tax on the excess.

The excess tax due is divided by 10 and added to the letter K. So, whereas with other tax codes the number indicates the amount of income you can have tax-free, the number in a K code indicates how much must be added to your taxable income.

K code example

K497 means:

your untaxed income was £4,970 greater than your tax-free allowances as a result, £4,970 must be added to your total taxable income to ensure the right amount of tax
is collected.

If you’re employed or between jobs

Your tax code is written on your P45 (given to you by your employer when you stop working for them). This is why it’s very important to give this to your new employer when you change jobs. If you’ve lost your P45 and want to find out your tax code contact your tax office and give them your National Insurance number and tax reference number.

If you’re starting your first job

If you’re starting your first job and don’t have a P45, your employer will give you a P46 to fill in and sign Your employer will allocate a tax (depending on your circumstances) code and work out the tax due.

HMRC will process your P46 and, where necessary, revise your tax code. If you’ve paid too much tax, your employer will make the necessary repayment. (If the tax year has ended before this is worked out, then HMRC will make the repayment.) If you haven’t paid enough tax your tax code can be amended to collect the underpaid tax (K code).

If you get a company or personal pension

You’ll find your tax code on your ‘notice of coding’ sent to you by your tax office after the start of each tax year (and at other times if your tax code changes). You’ll also find your tax code on notices and payslips from your pension provider.

Changes that might affect your tax code

You must keep us informed of any change in your circumstances, for example if:
you get married, form a civil partnership or separate or either of you was born before 6 April 1935 you start to receive a second income the amount of untaxed income you get increases or reduces.

If you do not do this you could end up paying the wrong amount of tax. If your tax code is changed, you should receive a ‘notice of coding’ from your tax office. Keep all notice of coding letters for reference in case you have any questions or need to check you are paying the right level of tax.

As a tax professional, I prepare hundreds of tax returns every year. When I first started out, I used to think that the best way I could help people was to prepare a return as accurately and as quickly as possible. You know, provide great customer service.

And it is very important that your return be done “right” –all the numbers on the right lines, using the right forms, etc.

But no matter how good a job I did preparing tax returns, every year I would hear the same complaint over and over again from my clients:

“I pay way too much tax. The government is getting way too much of my money. What can I do to pay less tax? How can I lower my tax bill — legally?”

Sound familiar? I’d bet a lot of money that you’ve felt this way, too. Most people feel this way. And I know that most small business owners feel this way.

And most people really don’t know what to do about it. I mean, what can you, the typical self-employed person, do to lower your taxes?

I’m here to tell that there is plenty you can do. So let’s get started. Here are 4 simple steps you can take to drastically reduce your taxes:

STEP #1: Understand How Serious Your Tax Problem Is

I’m a numbers guy. So here’s a few numbers that will simply amaze you, startle you, probably (and hopefully) even shock you.

Are you aware of just how much in taxes you are paying? Sure, when you look at your tax return each year, you see the numbers, right there in black and white. But I rarely meet someone who truly understands the significance of your annual tax bill.

Well here are the numbers. And it ain’t pretty. The following is a chart that tells how much the average family spends on various consumer categories — as a percentage of income. It’s not just how much you spend on taxes that is important, it’s how much you spend on taxes as compared to all other major categories of spending.

Consumer Spending: How Do You Spend Your Hard-Earned Dollars?

Taxes 32.0%
Housing 16.7%
Medical Care 11.5%
Food 8.2%
Transportation 7.9%
Recreation 5.7%
Clothing 4.1%
Savings 1.4%
Other 12.5%
TOTAL 100.0%

So there you have it. If you think you are being nailed by the government, you are absolutely right. You spend more on taxes than any other category of consumer spending. In fact, you spend more on taxes than on food, clothing, and housing combined. (Run the numbers: Food-8.2% + Clothing-4.1% + Housing-16.7% = 29% vs. Taxes-32.0%)

Think about it — the Average American spends 32% of his/her income on taxes. And it’s not just federal income taxes we’re talking about here. There’s also state income taxes and local income taxes (like your city or county).

Oh, we’re not done. That 32% also includes “Payroll Taxes” — for employees, that’s the 7.65% of your gross wage that goes to fund Social Security and Medicare programs; for business owners and self-employed people, Payroll Taxes are double that amount — 15.3% of your wages or self-employment income.

And if that’s not enough, there is also Sales Tax, Excise Tax, and Property Tax.

Finally, we should include Corporate Income Tax. Why do I include that? Well, where do corporations get the money to pay their corporate income tax? From consumers like you and me, that’s where! When you buy groceries, part of the price is going to be used by the grocery store to pay the store’s income tax. The grocery store just passed his tax bill on to you.

Here’s another way to look at it. Each year economists do a calculation to determine “Tax Freedom Day”. What is “Tax Freedom Day”? It’s a way to graphically depict that we spend 32% of our money on taxes. In Year 2008, Tax Freedom Day was April 23. That means that from January 1 through April 22, all the money you made went to taxes. Finally, on April 23, you now get to keep what you make for the rest of the year.

By the way, the April 23 date is a national average. Your actual Tax Freedom Day may actually be a few days sooner or later than April 23, depending on which state you live in. That’s because state and local taxes vary considerably. For example, Washington, DC residents do not get to celebrate Tax Freedom Day until May 3. Connecticut’s Tax Freedom Day is May 8 (the latest of any state.) The earliest state to celebrate Tax Freedom Day is Alaska – March 29.

Maybe you already knew “intuitively” that your Tax Bill is outrageously high. If not, the picture I’ve just painted should thoroughly convince you that you pay too much tax, period.

STEP #2: Get The Right Attitude About Your Taxes

What do I mean by this? Well, you simply must have a certain “mental attitude” toward this whole idea of paying taxes. I’ll get right to the point — you must have an attitude about taxes that says, “Enough is enough. I’m paying way too much tax and I don’t like it! And it’s about time I did something about it.”

After reading those numbers above — paying 32% of your income to the government — how do you feel? Doesn’t that just make you furious? If so, great, then you are on your way to solving this problem.

If you saw those numbers above and said, “Big deal. So I work until April 23 for the government. So what? So does everybody else in this country” — well, I’m sorry, but you might as well just throw this article in the trash and forget about it. You will continue to pay way too much tax because you really don’t care about it.

To reduce your taxes, you must have a desire for paying less tax. You must get focused on doing something about it. Right now, or before the day is over, go get last year’s personal income tax return (Form 1040) and look at how much tax you paid for last year.

Now, when you have Form 1040 in front of you, do you realize where the most important number is on this form?

NO, it’s not Line 73 — which tells you how much of a refund you got (if any!).

NO, it’s not Line 76 — which tells you how much you still owed, the balance due with the return.

The most important number on Form 1040 is Line 63. Read it. It says: This is your TOTAL TAX. That is how much federal tax you paid for all of last year. When it comes to reducing your taxes, it doesn’t matter whether you got a refund or whether you had a balance due.

What matters is — what was your total tax liability for the year. That’s the “magic number” that should just make your blood boil and your heart beat so fast that you can hardly stand it.

Now that I’ve got you all “riled up” about paying so much tax, let’s move on to Step #3.

STEP #3: Realize That Reducing Taxes Is the Easiest Path Possible to Putting Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars in Your Pocket

Consider this simple fact: Reducing your taxes by just $4,000 per year is the easiest way possible to becoming a millionaire.

Let me elaborate.

First, let me “run the numbers” for you. Let’s say you implement some new tax-saving strategies that reduce your taxes by $4,000 each year. Now, if you take that $4,000 per year in tax savings and invest it over the next 30 years, assuming you earn 5.25% on your investment, you end up with $310,584 at the end of the 30 years.

And here’s the best part about this scenario: Where did you get the $4,000/year to invest? Well, you got it from money that would have gone to Uncle Sam. It’s money that you used to spend on taxes, part of the 32% of your income that goes to taxes each year.

In effect, it’s free money. It’s money that was always there — you just didn’t realize it.

Is this a good deal or what? In effect, by taking advantage of the tax reduction strategies you’ll read about shortly, the government will finance a huge chunk of your retirement nest egg.

And let’s say your tax situation is such that you save $2,000/year instead of $4,000/year. Same assumptions: you invest the $2,000 each year at 5.25% for 30 years. End result: $155,292. Not too shabby, eh?

So all you have to do is come up with the tax-saving strategies that will put $2,000 or $4,000 in your pocket each and every year. Which brings us to Step #4.

STEP #4: Get Hold Of The Tax-Saving Strategies That Will Make You Rich

You know, it doesn’t really take much information to save a lot of money in taxes. It is true: just a little bit of tax knowledge can save you thousands of dollars every year.

Useful tax information is freely available. On the internet, at your local library, and through your local tax professional.

The question is: Are you willing to spend some time this year learning about effective tax strategies that can save you literally thousands of dollars?

Here’s a simple goal to set for yourself: Over the next 10 weeks, set aside just an hour a week to read up on tax-reduction strategies. That’s all, just 10 hours.

Chances are you’ll find 2 or 3 strategies that reduce your tax bill by $1,000 this year.

So you spend 10 hours and, in effect, pay yourself an extra $1,000 for your time. Not a bad hourly rate, eh?

That’s all it takes to pay less tax.

A tax code is usually made up of one letter and several numbers, for example: 117L or K497.

If your tax code is a number followed by a letter, you can multiply the number in your tax code by 10, to get the total amount of income you can earn in a year before paying tax.

The letter shows how the number should be adjusted following any changes to allowances announced by the Chancellor – common tax code letters are explained below.

Common tax code letters and what they mean
L – is used if you are eligible for the basic personal allowance (under 65).

P – is used if you are aged 65 to 74 and eligible for the full personal allowance.

V – is used if you are aged 65 to 74, eligible for the full personal allowance and
the full age related married couple’s allowance (for those born before 6 April
1935 and aged under 75) and estimated to be liable at the basic rate of tax.

Y – is used if you are aged 75 or over and eligible for the full personal allowance.

T – is used if there are any other items HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) needs
to review in your tax code, or if you ask HMRC not to use any of the other tax
code letters listed above.

K – is used when your total allowances are less than your total ‘deductions’.
If your tax code is a ‘K’ code – for example, K497 – the number indicates how much must be added to your taxable income. Read more under How the K code works.

Other tax codes

If your tax code has two letters but no number, or is the letter ‘D’ followed by a zero, it normally indicates that you have two or more sources of income and that all of your allowances have been applied to the tax code and income from your main job.

BR is used when all your income is taxed at the basic rate – currently 20 per cent
(most commonly used for a second job).

D0 is used when all your income is taxed at the higher rate of tax – currently 40
percent (most commonly used for a second job).

NT is used when no tax is to be taken from your income or pension. (If you have two jobs, it is likely that all of your second income will be taxed at the basic or higher rate
(depending on how much you earn) This is because all of your allowances will have been used against the income from your main job.)

The American Dream is, and always will be, to come up with an idea, start a business and become rich from your own efforts. Based upon this motivation, thousands of businesses fail each year, due primarily to not being familiar with the basics involved in running a business.

This report will enlighten you, and give you a number of suggestions you can use to better guarantee your chances for success. This report is written with the warning that any and every business venture contains certain inherent risks, and any number of alternatives. We do not espouse that any one way is the right way or that our suggestions are the only way. On the contrary, we advise that before investing any money in a business venture, you seek counselling and help from a qualified accountant and/or attorney.

Just about the first thing you should consider before deciding to start or purchase a business is the legal form you’ll be operating under. There are basically four choices: sole proprietorship, partnership, limited partnership, and/or corporation.

Each has a number of advantages and disadvantages. We’ll try to enumerate some of them for you.

As much as anything else, for many people starting a business is a form of ego-gratification, and they form a corporation for some sort of prestige gain – just to say, “I own a corporation.”

With just a little bit of observation, you’ll find that one of the major causes of business failures is due to the founder wasting start-up capital on frills, such as an impressive store- front office, expensive furnishings, and corporate legal costs.

One of the basic traits you must develop it you’re going to be successful in business, is a tight hold on your expenditures. In fact, a good rule of thumb is that anything that does not make money for yo or protect your investment, should not be purchased at this time. Very definitely, this applies to the expense of setting up your own corporation.

Unless you have a partnership and start your business as such, the only real advantage to forming a corporation would appear to be that a corporate structure will semi-protect the property you personally own.

As an example, you own a home and car. You form a corporation to protect these possessions from business losses. Yet, if you can be found guilty of misusing corporate funds, your business creditors can pierce the corporate shield and come after your possessions.

Basically, if you invest everything you have in your business, as most newcomers do, you don’t usually need a corporation because you have nothing to protect. Your household possessions, personal belongings, generally your car, and even a portion of the equity in your home is protected by the homestead provision of the Federal Bankruptcy Act, and cannot be taken away from you.

As a sole proprietor or partner of a business you’ll be paying taxes on your overall earnings, much the same as if you were holding down a salaried or hourly paid job. Whether you do or don’t take out money as a salary will have no bearing on the earnings of your business and tax return.

The often advertised advantage of incorporating, that you can manipulate your salary in order to save on tax dollars, is real because of corporation laws. However, the IRS frowns on this practice. When your business is successful and making a lot of money, definitely check with your accountant on the advantages of incorporating.

As a corporation, you’ll be subject to a number of other drawbacks as well: generally higher state taxes, stricter laws concerning the operation of your business, more elaborate accounting procedures, and legal papers that are required just about every time you make a major move or sign almost any contract. Thus, your legal and accounting fees will be much higher as a corporation than will those required for a sole proprietorship type of business.

As a sole proprietor or partnership, you’ll find many areas require the registration of your business name. The cost however, is minimal, ranging from $5 to $100. About the best way to find out what laws apply in your area, is to call your bank and ask if they need a fictitious name registration card or certificate in order for you to open a business account.

Selecting a name for your business is quite important to you and particularly relative to advertising. Your business name should describe the product or services you offer. Fancy names such as, Linda’s Clipping Service will lose potential “walk-in and passing” customers to the beauty shop across the street that calls itself, Patti’s Beauty Salon or Jane’s Hair Styling Shop.

The advantage of using your full name in the title of your business, such as Johnny Jones’ Meat Lockers, has the advantage of making credit somewhat easier to come by – provided you pay your bills on time – but it also includes the disadvantage of confining your services to a local or at most, a regional area.

Should you buy, lease, or rent a space for your business? think twice before you make any decision along these lines. Most businesses tend to grow quickly or they never get off the ground.

There are a few exceptions, but only a very few, that tend to grow at a modified rate.

So, buying a piece of property and setting up your business on or within that property, obligates you to ownership regardless of what happens to your business.

Leases are almost always very strong contracts written by attorneys to the advantage of the property-owner. When you sign an agreement to pay someone for the use of their space over any length of time, you’re “nailed in” to paying for that space regardless of what happens to your business.

In the beginning, it’s wise to either get the shortest-term lease possible, or arrange to rent with an option to lease at a later date. This does not apply to a retail business, unless your particular business happens to be an untried one.

Definitely, you should open a business bank account. In selecting a bank for your business, scout around and look for one that can, and will help you. Determine what your banking needs will be, and then via telephone, interview the managers of the banks in your area. The important convenient bank to your business location.

A point to remember: the closer you can make the relationship between you and the bank manager, the better your chances are going to be for approval on loans and/or special favors you may need at a later date.

Try to become acquainted with as many of the bank employees as possible. The better you know them, the more courtesies they’ll be extending especially to you in the course of your association.

Just as a doctor is a specialist in his field, and you go to him for medical problems, your banker is a specialist in his field and you should go to him for your money problems. In business, you’ll have to learn that everyone is an expert in his own line of work, and in your associations with other business people, refrain from acting like a “sharpie” and/or pretending that you know exactly how everything works in someone else’s specialty.

You’ll find that very often, different banks specialize in different types of businesses. As an example, you’re sure to find banks that specialize in real estate transactions, export- import businesses, and even manufacturing operations only.

What I’m saying here is that if you’re planning to sella fairly expensive item, your customers will probably need and/or want financing. It will behoove you to select a bank familiar with your type of product that will afford your customers, through you, contract financing.

Some of the questions you should ask of your banker include the following:

Is it necessary to maintain a certain balance in your account before the bank will approve a loan for you? What qualifications must you have in order to obtain a line of credit with the bank?

Does the bank limit the number of loans, or types of loans it will approve for small businesses?

What is the bank’s policy regarding the size of a check you might deposit that requires holding for collection?

And what about checks less than that amount – will they be immediately credited to your account?

In almost all types of businesses, it will be to your benefit to set up with your bank, a method of handling VISA, Master Charge, and regional credit cards. The important thing here is to ultimately set up your account in the bank that will service all of these credit transactions for you – one stop for all your banking needs. In most instances, you’ll find that having the capability to fill orders/make sales via credit card transactions, will increase your volume of sales appreciatively.

Once you’ve made the decision as to which bank is going to handle your account, you’ll need your Social Security Number or your Federal Employer’s Identification Number, your driver’s license, the fictitious name certificate, and if you’re requesting a VISA or Master Charge franchise, you’ll also need a financial statement.

For corporations, you’ll also need a corporate resolution approving of the opening of your business account.

There are different policies exercised in just about every state regarding installation/hook-up charges by the telephone and utility companies. Some require a deposit, and some don’t.

You’ll find that a great number of city business license departments are there solely for the purpose of collecting another tax. Depending on the type of business you’re asking a license for, the building and zoning people may inspect your premises for soundness of structure and safety. Generally, you won’t encounter any difficulties – you simply pay your fee to operate your business in that city, and the clerk types your name onto a city license certificate.

Relative to sales tax permits and licenses, each state’s rules and regulations very widely. The best thing to do is call your state offices and ask for information concerning registry and collection procedures. Many states require an advance deposit or bond, and you’ll find that some wholesalers or manufacturers will not sell to you at wholesale prices until you can show them your sales tax permit or number.

Should your business entail selling your products or services across state lines, in another state, you’re not required to collect taxes except in those where you have offices or stores.

You may find also that your particular business requires the collection of Federal Excise Taxes. For information along these lines, check in with your local office of the Internal Revenue Service.

Some states also require certain businesses to hold state licenses, such as those required in many states for TV Repairmen.

These are known as “occupational permits” and are most often required of barbers, hair stylists, real estate people and a number of other consumer oriented businesses. If you have any doubts, check with your state offices for a list of those occupations that require licensing.

Any business doing business in any type of interstate commerce is subject to federal regulations, usually through the Federal Trade Commission. This means that any business that shops, sells or advertises in more than one state is subject to such regulation, and this includes even the smallest of mail order operations.

Normally, very few business people ever have and contact with the federal regulatory agencies. The only exceptions being when there is a question of your operating your business unethically or illegally.

Any business that sells or distributes food in any manner almost always requires a county health department permit. If your business falls into this category, simply call the county health department and invite them out to your place of business for an inspection. The fees generally range from about $25, depending on the size of your business when they first inspect it for permit approval.

There are also a number of businesses that require inspection by a fire marshall, and fire department approval. Generally, these are those that handle flammable materials or attract large numbers of people, such as a theater. Overall, the local fire department has to be allowed to inspect your premises whenever they desire to do so.

You may also run into a requirement for an air and/or water pollution control permit. These specifically apply to any business that burns anything, discharges anything into the sewers or waterways, or use any gas-producing product, such as a paint sprayer.

Without a doubt, you’ll need to check on local regulations relating to advertising display signs. Each city or township makes its own rules and then enforces those rules according to its own thinking -check before you contract to have a sign made for your business.

The design and placement of your sign is very important to your business – specifically to retail establishments – but let me remind you that your business sign is usually the first thing a potential customer sees and as such, it should catch his eye and leave an impression that lasts. It would be a good idea to ride around your town and take a look at the signs that catch your eye, and try to determine the impression of the business that sign leaves on you. This is a basic learning formula for determining the design, size and placement of your business sign.

Some of the other things to consider before opening for business – If you intend to employ one or more employees, you’ll be required to deduct Federal Income Taxes, and Social Security payments from their checks. This will involve your filing for a Federal Tax Number and necessitates contact with your local IRS Office.

Most states have “unemployment taxes” which will have to be deducted from the paychecks of any employees you hire. And there are a number of states that have income taxes – disability insurance – and any number of other taxes. Again, the best thing to do is check with your local office of the IRS. And above all else, don’t forget to ask for the rules of the minimum wage law, and comply.

When your business grows to the point of needing additional help, don’t be afraid to look for and hire the help you need. when you’re ready to hire someone, simply run an ad in your local paper and/or register your needs with the local office of your state’s employment service. Businesses either grow or die, and those that grow eventually need more people in order to continue growing.

When that time comes, hire the additional people you need, and your business will continue growing. If you don’t, for whatever reason, you’ll find yourself married to your business and your business growth stymied.

Regardless of how small your business is when you begin, never walk in with the thought in mind that it’s something to keep you busy. Anyone with an attitude of that kind is a fool. You begin and make a business successful in order to realize financial freedom. Establish your business. Put it on its feet, and then hire other people to do the work for you. And those businesses that require an operations manager, or someone to run a phase of the business you’re too busy to handle, hire the person needed or the business will surely suffer.

To protect the investment of your business, you need business insurance. If you’ve never had any experience with business insurance, simply look under the heading of “business insurance” in your phone directory. Ask for bids from several different companies or agents…Primarily, you should have a policy that gives you general liability, fire, workmen’s compensation, business interruption, and vehicle coverage. You amy also want coverage against possible losses related to burglary, robbery, Life & Accident, Key Man, and Fidelity Bonds.

As the sole proprietor of a business, you won’t be paid as an employee, so there will be no income tax deducted from whatever you withdraw from the company’s earnings. What you’ll have to do is a gain check with the IRS Office for a Tax Guide For Small Businesses Handbook, and probably end up filing an estimated tax return on a quarterly basis.

The minute you open your doors for business, you’ll have to spend some time engaged in the work of bookkeeping. Exactly how, and using what forms, you keep books, should be on the recommendations of a good tax counselor…The same holds true for your overall business and/or payroll accounting system. Look for an experienced CPA that knows the accounting problems to your particular kind of business, and solicit his advise/counseling.

If your business is going to involve the possible purchase or lease of operating equipment, again seek the help of your tax counselor for the most advantageous method of obtaining the needed equipment.

Basically, arranging for your suppliers to give you materials on credit will depend upon your honesty and personal financial statement. The best way is usually a personal visit to the person with the power to approve or disapprove of credit at the company where you want to set up a credit account. Show him your financial statement, and explain your prospects for success. Then assure him that you’ve always honored all of your obligations, and that if ever there’s a question or problem, you’d like for him to call you at home. And of course, give him your home phone number.

We won’t go into the exigencies of advertising your products, services or business here, but there is something along these lines you should always keep in mind. The best kind of advertising your business can receive is that you don’t really pay for – publicity.

When something unusual happens to you, your business, or your employees – that’s news, so be sure to tell the news media in your area about it.

The most important ingredient of your eventual success will be the soundness of the planning you did before you started your business. Any number of bad things can really throw your business into a tailspin, but it you’ve done your homework well – really set up a detailed business plan before starting – your losses or setbacks will be minimal. Success takes planning, and within this report, you’ve got a basic checklist…The rest is up to you…Good luck, and may your life overflow with success in all that you undertake from this moment forward.