Archives for March 2020

The bank is an institution that has been very beneficial to our world. Banking began with the aim of providing us with safe places to keep our money. However, they have been able to add a lot of services over the years including giving out loans, allowing people to pay bills and giving out cards that can be used to withdraw money and make payments among many others. This article will explain the difference between a physical bank and an online bank.

What is a physical bank?
A physical bank is the type of bank that you can visit in your locality. They provide a physical location to store money. It is easier to trust these banks since they have a physical and verifiable office that you can easily visit whenever there is an issue. They mostly operate under the rules of the city or country. They are licensed and regulated by the government and to a very large extent, the deposit of the customers of a reputable bank is guaranteed. Even if the bank is to shut down, government regulations and insurance will lead to depositors getting their money back.

What is an online bank?
An online bank is a bank that operates on the Internet. For this type of banks, you can visit them through a website or their mobile app. In most cases, they also have phone numbers and social media platforms that you can use in communicating with them. They give you a high level of freedom over your account as you can load your account and use their services through their available platform without having to visit the bank. An example of an online bank is Transferwise. You can follow the link to read reviews about Transferwise, how reputable they are and tips on using their platform.

Similarities between physical banks and online banks
The major similarity between physical banks and online banks is that they provide the same services. They both exist as a platform where you can save money, pay bills, transfer money, get loans and every other service that a bank offers. Thus, virtually every service you can get from a physical bank, you can also get from an online bank, making both types of banks a great option when you need banking services.

Differences between physical banks and online banks
The major difference between physical banks and online banks is the fact that one has an office building locally that you can easily visit, while the other does not. Their mode for certain services could also be a bit different. For example, some transactions you might need from a physical bank might require you being physically present in the bank and presenting paperwork. However, when it comes to online banks, every service can be carried out remotely. Physical banks also gives you the opportunity to store physical stuffs like jewelry and important documents, while you might not get such opportunities with online banks.

The current state of physical and online banks
The important of online presence for any business is widely known. As a result, virtually every physical bank not only have a website and mobile application, but they also provide online banking services. Online banks also strive to have at least an office that they list on their website to get some of the trust that comes with having a physical location. Furthermore, most online banks strive to provide cheaper services since they know physical banks have an extra advantage. Thus, while the extra advantage of physical banks is the fact that they have a physical presence, online banks try to counter the advantage by being cheaper and more flexible.

Did you know that you can save your office thousands of dollars per year by using a few proven energy saving tips? To discover some effective energy saving tips, which will help your company decrease its utility bills, simply continue reading.

On average a single air-conditioning unit will consume 4,000 watts of power and will cost around 1,460 pounds, per year. So if you want to save your business money, it’s well worth limiting your use of air-conditioning units. As an example, there’s no reason to keep your air-conditioning units turned on, at the end of the day or during the cold winter months.

In comparison, while an air-conditioning unit will consume 4,000 watts of power in a year, desktop computers only consume 100 watts of electricity per year.

Invest in a green, energy efficient air-conditioning unit:

If you’re shocked by the amount of money that it takes to run an air-conditioning unit, it’s a great idea to replace your old, air-conditioning unit, with newer, energy efficient air-conditioning units. A smart move, which should save your hundreds of dollars per year.

Replace all of your outdated appliances:

You may be surprised to learn that in general, old, outdated appliances can consume up to 90% more power than new models. So if it’s been years since you’ve replaced your servers, computers, heat pumps or air-conditioning units, now may be the perfect time to replace some of your office’s outdated appliances.

One appliance which is well worth replacing is your server. As an average server consumes 1,000 watts of power per year and older servers take more energy to run than newer servers. You may also be surprised to learn that after air-conditioning units, severs consume the most energy, in your office.

Replace your office’s light bulbs with power saving LED light bulbs:

While light bulbs only consume 60 watts of energy per year, just think about how many light bulbs are currently used in your office. As it’s highly like that your office features a few dozen light bulbs, it’s a wise idea to replace all of your office’s light bulbs with power saving, LED light bulbs. As a bonus, the average LED light bulb has a lifespan, which is 5 times longer, than a cheap, traditional light bulb.

Use your printers sparingly:

In today’s technology focused age, where you can share files easily online, make sure that your team members think twice, before printing out pages of documents. As on average printers use 50 watts of energy each year. If you use your printers sparingly you may be able to reduce this number to 25 watts or less per year.

It’s also well worth getting your employees to think twice before using your office photocopiers. As photocopiers consume 70 watts of power per week.

Final thoughts:

So if you’ve been searching for smart ways to reduce your consumption of energy in the office, it’s definitely well worth implementing all of the clever, power saving tips which are listed above. All of which will also help your business save several thousand dollars per year.

Since 1975 the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has been a godsend to low income earners who really cannot afford to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes (FICA) from an already limited income. The EITC has proved immensely helpful for millions of families across the US. Unfortunately, it is a tax credit that is often misunderstood.

For example, self-employed people otherwise eligible to claim the credit often fail to do so because they believe they are ineligible. Nothing could be further from the truth. As long as a self-employed individual meets all the same criteria as a standard employee, he or she can claim the EITC.

To qualify for the EITC, a taxpayer must be between the ages of 25 and 65. His or her filing status must also be single or married filing jointly. Finally, the taxpayer must be caring for dependent children or qualifying adult dependents not listed as dependents on anyone else’s tax return.

Definition of Self-Employment

The tricky thing with self-employment and the EITC is not actually the tax credit but defining self-employment. Whether or not a taxpayer is truly self-employed depends on how that person’s business is set up. We can start with sole proprietors, as they are the easiest to understand.

A sole proprietor is a person who does business individually, usually under a DBA arrangement. The business typically doesn’t have its own bank account, though some sole proprietors utilize alternative financial services to keep business finances separate. Finally, business income and expenses are reported on schedule C. All business income is treated as personal income for tax purposes.

You can technically be self-employed if your business is set up as an S Corporation or LLC. However, there are other tax implications to consider. Self-employed individuals working under a corporate arrangement tend to pay themselves through a combination of distributions and regular salaries. Corporate distributions are not subject to self-employment tax.

Claiming the EITC as a Sole Proprietor

Most self-employed people eligible to receive the EITC are sole proprietors. By their very nature, employees of S corporations and LLCs generally make too much to claim the credit anyway. Thus, our focus on sole proprietors.

The maximum credit for the 2019 tax year is $6,557. The average credit paid out for the 2018 tax year was just under $2,500. How much a given taxpayer might be eligible for depends on income and the total number of qualifying dependents claimed.

Claiming the credit is a matter of doing some calculations on your annual tax return. A sole proprietor begins with the previously mentioned schedule C. This is the form used to declare all business revenue and expenses. He or she uses the same calculations that he/she used to determine total income or loss from business dealings.

In essence, the amount of revenue left over after deducting all business expenses counts as the sole proprietor’s income. That number is used to determine EITC eligibility. If you were using computer software to do your taxes, the software would automatically calculate any EITC credit you were due. Preparing your taxes manually would require running the numbers yourself.

Play by the Rules

In closing, it is vitally important for self-employed taxpayers to play by the rules. Fudging the numbers in order to reduce self-employment taxes might also make one eligible for a higher EITC credit, but it could also result in losing access to the credit if the IRS discovers what has been done. In essence, the EITC is not guaranteed. Cross the IRS and you might not be able to claim it for up to 10 years.