Month: November 2016

Before signing your name to a contract, it is important to read every word. Even a single sentence could have implications that could ruin your financial future. Once you choose to sign a contract, there is no way to reverse your decision. As a result, you could face unforeseen consequences that you could carry with you for the remainder of your lifetime. You should also read the contract to ensure that you understand all of your contractual obligations.

Understanding this information can help you to avoid penalties that could hurt you later down the road. This article will take a look at why it is important to read every word of a contractual agreement before signing.

1. Unfavorable Terms are Usually Hidden

A contract created by the other party is usually designed to convince you to sign it. As a result, unfavorable terms are usually hidden within the agreement. Research has shown that readers are most likely to read the first sentence of each paragraph. Readers are also more likely to ignore terms that are written in smaller fonts. In most cases, the other party is aware of these human tendencies. Therefore, you can use this information to your advantage. Make sure that you read the entire contract to discover terms that are likely to be unfavorable. Most of these bad terms will be hidden in the middle of paragraphs, in small fonts, or near the end of the document.

2. Unintended Consequences

Many individuals who sign a bad contract are in a hurry to get what they want. As a result, they are unlikely to carefully evaluate each contractual term. Since the consequences of a bad contract can extend for the remainder of your lifetime, it is important to consider how individual terms could have unintended consequences. In many cases, individuals are unaware of what these consequences could be. As a result, it may be advantageous for individuals to ask a professional attorney for advice. It may also be possible to talk to another individual who previously entered into the same agreement. By doing this, you can reduce your chances of entering into an agreement that you will later regret.

3. Understanding Your Obligations

It is also important to read the full terms of an agreement to understand your obligations. In many cases, disputes arise due to ignorance by the other party. Courts in the United States have long upheld that individuals who are ignorant about certain terms cannot receive any extra leniency. The only exception to this rule is if the other party acted in bad faith. In the vast majority of cases, victims of bad contracts usually end up having to pay for their mistakes. Therefore, it is important to fully understand your obligations under the contractual terms. The easiest way to do this is to simply read the entire agreement. Make sure that you ask questions if there is something that you are unsure about.

4. Contracts Can Be Changed

The terms of a contract can always be changed. If you study the terms and find something that you are uncomfortable about, the other party might be willing to remove the unfavorable terms. Even unethical individuals are often willing to make these concessions. Make sure that you read the entire contract to find terms that might need to be changed. If the other party is not willing to change these terms, do not be afraid to walk away from the deal.

Simplifying the process can also help greatly. A variety of new options are now available, including electronic signature tools, that make the process of signing documents faster and easier on both individuals and businesses. This is just part of being organized, which will also help you to make sure you’re not agreeing to contractual obligations that you don’t understand.

So you run an LLC and you know that before long it will be time to file taxes. Everyone knows that paying taxes are not fun at all, but with deductions it can reduce the amount you owe and thus make it a little more bearable. The following list should help you by showing you some not so well know deductions that you can write off. I am not a tax professional, so all information should be gone over with your tax preparation company.

First-Business Insurance: So most businesses carry some form of insurance to protect themselves as well as the customers they work for. And we all know that business insurance is not cheap at all. So the IRS will let you write off the cost of having business insurance, and that is great news for many small business owners.

Second-Health Insurance: Since everyone has to have health insurance now, you might as well take the write off for it. If you own a small business and pay out of pocket for your health insurance you can write that expense off of your taxes. That includes insurance for you and your spouse as well as children up to 27 years old.

Third-Employee Pay: Paying employees is often the largest expenses that a business has. Writing off this expense will be huge for many owners. According to the IRS, as long as the expenses are reasonable you are allowed to write it off! So as long as you claim that your employees made a reasonable wage, there should be no problem.

Fourth-Home Office: Now everyone knows that an office can be a write off, but what happens if you run a service business that works at the client’s home or office? The IRS says that you can write off a home office as long as you use that portion of your home ONLY for business. You also need to use it on a regular basis. That can be only once a week if you use that space to do paperwork like invoicing and payroll. When you use the home office write off you also get the chance to write off a good amount of other things. Some of them are water and electric, repairs and even landscaping. Don’t forget the housekeeper as well!

Fifth-Training: If you bought some training DVDs for the office staff, or paid for the sales team to go to a training seminar then you are in luck. All training and education expenses used to further your current area of business can equal a large write off for you. So don’t be afraid to throw out the old VHS tapes sitting on the shelf collecting dust. Don’t forget that when you replace them, you need to watch the new ones!

Hopefully this list will help reduce the pain associated with filing taxes. These are just a few of the many write offs that the IRS offers to business. Don’t forget that a tax prep company should be aware of all the different write offs and what you do and don’t qualify for. But remember above all else, don’t take a write off if you didn’t earn it!