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If you’re like most Americans, you’re probably never more than an arm’s reach away from your cell phone. Cell phones are everywhere – with everyone – and more and more of them allow you to surf the web and run useful programs and applications.

There are even some applications for Apple’s iPhone that can help make your financial life easier. The first one we’re excited about is Tap2Track, an app that uses the GPS in your iPhone to record your mileage. Why do we like this one? Because many small business owners, contractors, and entrepreneurs are eligible to write off their mileage as a business expense come tax time (check with your local tax preparer to see if this applies to you).

For those of you suffering from budgeting woes, Pennies is a great budgeting and expense tracker. This is another useful app for helping you keep a record of eligible business expenses you can write off come tax time.  If you’re looking for something a little more robust, try Pocket Money or SplashMoney. These are more comprehensive apps that not only help you budget, but also track your expenses – whether you’re using cash, check, or American Express.  You can budget, track, and analyze your spending with custom charts and reports. SplashMoney also goes above and beyond Pocket Money in that it can connect wirelessly to many online U.S. banks.

When you’re out and about, another great iPhone app is TipTap (and this one’s free!). This is a very clean, simply designed app that allows you to instantly calculate the tip amount you should leave based on 1) the amount of the check 2) the percentage you’d like to hand over. Very useful for those who use the “15%” rule.

Looking for more finance apps for you iPhone? Check out more here and here. If you’re a fan of Google’s new Android phone (and the stock market!), you’ll be interested in Google’s new Finance app.

As a small business owner, keeping costs down is paramount to your success. One way many small business owners look to cut costs is to ensure that they’re paying the minimum amount of tax they’re required to by law. Much of your tax burden will depend on the type of business you operate and the choices you make along the way – including the type of employees you hire.

Choosing independent contractors over employees – or vice versa – could affect your tax burden. But how does the IRS determine whether you’ve employed an independent contractor or employee?

There are generally three characteristics the IRS uses to determine your company’s relationship to those it has employed. These characteristics are: Behavior Control, Financial Control, and the Type of Relationship. Each of these characteristics covers a difference aspect of how you interact with your workers. All three are used to determine the worker’s employment status.

So, let’s say that you can control/direct the type of work your workers do and dictate how it will be done. If you tell your worker, “I need you to work with Joan and take this hammer and hammer this nail into the wall according to this diagram,” then your workers will mostly likely be categorized as employees.  If all you’re controlling is the result – if you say to your worker, “I need a bridge built by Tuesday” – but you do not control who they hire to help them or how they build the bridge, then you have probably hired an independent contractor.

It’s important to classify your workers correctly, as misclassified workers can result in additional tax bills, penalties, and liabilities. Your workers may also be able to avoid bigger tax bills if they understand their proper status.

Learn more tax tips for business owners at IRS.gov.

If you’re a first-time homebuyer interested in cashing in on the $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit, time may be running out.  In order to qualify for the credit, the sale of your new home must close by November 30^th. If you’re not looking for a house now, chances are you won’t close on your house by the deadline! If you’re ready to start looking, you’ll need to step up your efforts NOW! But why does buying a house generally take so long? And won’t the credit be available next year?

First, loans are tougher to get these days, and you may be spending longer than you think waiting on your mortgage broker or specialist. There are also more people looking for homes due to the tax credit, and understaffed loan offices or departments (many shed staff during last year’s crisis) are having trouble keeping up.

It also takes time to find a house you love. Buying a house is a big financial commitment. You’ll want to find the right one for you. Add in the inevitable negotiations with sellers and scheduling inspections and you’re looking at anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months to close on a house!

Since the program has been so successful, Congress has considered extending the tax credit into next year, but as of right now there’s no guarantee that the program will be available. The tax credit amount may also change. Whether the credit – if extended – will be more or less next year is purely speculative.

What we do know is that if you’re looking to cash in on this credit for you first home, now is the time to start making deals!

In my urban neighborhood, we generally get an uptick in crime every summer. Recently, our neighborhood has started a foot/bike/car citizen’s watch to help deter crime. Though these efforts will no doubt deter future incidents of crime, for those of us who have already lost items of monetary or sentimental value, the damage has already been done.  Is there any way to recoup your losses if the incident wasn’t covered by your insurance plan?

If you’ve been the victim of a crime or natural disaster this summer, you may be able to deduct these casualty losses on your next tax return. In general, you can deduct losses to your home, any household items, and vehicles which are not covered by your existing insurance plan(s).

Keep in mind that this provision doesn’t cover normal wear and tear or deterioration of your home, household items, or depreciation of your vehicle(s). A good rule of thumb is to apply the deduction only to losses caused by an unexpected or unusual event like a car accident, fire, earthquake, hurricane, flood, burglary, or other type of vandalism.

You can claim a casualty or theft loss on Form 4684, Casualties and Thefts. This form will need to be submitted with your federal tax return. According to the IRS, casualty losses are usually only deductible in the year the incident occurred.

For more information, visit the source of this article: IRS.gov.

Fez Ogbazion, CEO of Instant Tax Service, was featured on the program Franchise Interviews on Blogtalkradio today!

In this interview, Fez talks about how he started his business, shares some advice for entrepreneurs, and explains why Instant Tax Service  franchise sales are up this year – even in a rough economy.

You can listen to the entire segement here.

Instant Tax Service keeps making waves, even during tough times!

Inc. Magazine recently ranked Instant Tax Service #93 on its fastest-growing private companies list. This is the first time we’ve made this list, and we’re absolutely thrilled. Thanks, Inc.!

This is also a great day for our little town of Dayton, OH. We were one of 5 local companies to make Inc.’s list. Our success is Dayton’s success.

The IRS recently warned taxpayers to be on the lookout for potential fraud involving the first-time homebuyer credit.

In Jacksonville, FL an independent tax preparer recently pled guilty to falsely claiming the first-time homebuyer credit on his clients’ federal tax returns. The tax preparer worked out of his home – not as a member of a reputable tax firm – and has defrauded the IRS of over $216,000. Penalties for incorrectly filing tax returns come with hefty penalties. In this case, that could mean up to three years in jail and/or a fine of as much as $250,000 for the tax preparer. And a lot of headache for his clients.

There are about two dozen open criminal investigations of potential fraud involving this new tax credit. What can you do to protect yourself?

First, educate yourself about who qualifies for the First-Time Homebuyer Credit.  The 2009 tax credit applies to someone who has not owned a primary residence in the last three years, and if the taxpayer is married, the requirement also applies to their spouse. As of right now, the home purchase MUST close before December 1, 2009 in order to qualify. You CANNOT claim this credit on your tax return until after you close on your home!

Tax credits have become increasingly complex in recent years as the tax code is modified. For instance, there are different rules that apply to this credit for homebuyers who purchased a house in 2008. If you’re still uncomfortable about the rules of the tax credit, visit a reputable tax preparer. Tax preparers like Instant Tax Service are staffed by trained tax professionals. Many fly-by-night tax offices may not be as educated about tax code changes, or may simply fudge numbers in order to give clients higher refunds.

In the end, the real victims are the taxpayers who must pay back their hefty refunds to the government – plus any applicable penalties. As a taxpayer, it’s important to protect yourself. Stay educated about tax code changes, and when the time comes to use a tax preparer – choose wisely!

April 15th may have come and gone, but if you’ve been going over your receipts and W-2’s and realized you made an error on last year’s tax return, it’s not too late to get it corrected! Filing an amended return – a 1040X – allows you to correct any errors made on last year’s tax return and collect any refund amount that may be due to you.

But under what circumstances should you file an amended return?

According to the IRS, you should file an amended return if you find errors in how you reported your filing status, dependents, total income, deductions, or credits. For simple math errors, filing an amended return is generally not necessary. The IRS is able to (and often does) correct minor math errors. If you’re still concerned, you can always give the IRS a call to make sure the error was corrected.

Many people also incorrectly assume that if you forget to include a particular form – like a W-2 – that they must file an amended return. In most cases, the IRS will simply request that you send them any missing forms after you’ve filed.

It’s also important to remember that if you’re filing an amended return that results in claiming an additional refund, you should wait until you’ve received the refund for the first tax return. Then complete the 1040X. For those who owe, filing the 1040X as soon as possible will be your best bet. This helps limit any interest or penalty charges incurred by the IRS for late payment.

It’s important to remember that even if you file for an extension, you will accrue interest on any tax not paid by the due date!

For more IRS tax tips about amended returns, click here.