You are a new business owner and you have just opened your startup company. In such situation, you would require to hire an accountant who would assist you with the financial matters. Not everyone is an expert of finance and finance itself is a very big concept. Therefore hiring an accountant becomes essential. Sometimes people invest in accounting software but it is definitely not an easy solution and effective one that startup companies should invest in. Accounting and everything related to accounting is not just numbers and it is an incorrect fact that everyone can do it. A good accountant will be expert of accounting; he or she will assist you from small financial chores of the office to large decision making financial calculations.

If you are a company based in Calgary, you can hire Tax Accounting Services in Surrey to look after your tax preparation Services in Surrey and all other services like record keeping, advisory and auditing. A general accounting practice firm usually covers four basic areas of accounting expertise, i.e.

1. Accounting and record keeping
2. Tax planning
3. Business advisory
4. Auditing

The best method to find an accountant who is excellent at what he or she does is by asking for referrals. Your attorney, banker, friends, and even your relatives who have their own business can offer some references to give to you if you request them. Take some favors from your acquaintances and get referrals of few reliable accountant companies. Another fact to keep in mind, do not under estimate the significance of CPA qualifications. Having a CPA degree guarantees that the accountant has a standard and a set of abilities when performing accounting related tasks. The person can be relied upon. When you come up with a list of names, decide on the basic accounting needs of your company. Based on the requirements; start interviewing companies offering Income Tax Accounting in Surrey services.

Fees act as an important decision making factor for several new and small companies. Therefore, ask the fees of the accountant or the company upfront. If the accountant specializes in tax planningthen the price may vary as per his experience. Ask the price of only the services you require. Get a variety of quotes from different accountants. If possible, try to get a total annual estimate as well for the charges. A novice in this domain will charge you less than an expert.

Next, check the personality of the person you shortlisted or the in charge of the company you have want to hire. Take an interview of the person and during the end of the interview, ask the account about real time client references. Verify if they can give you references from similar industry as yours, this will aid you to know that the company or executives are used to working in the same niche. A good accountant will be more than happy to provide useful and effective references.

What is my total income?

Your total income is not just your salary. You might be earning income from multiple sources. Following are the five heads of income under the Income Tax Act.

• Income from Salary
• Income from House property (Renting out house)
• Capital gains (Sale of shares,mutual funds, gold, real estate etc)
• Income from Business/Profession
• Income from other sources (Includes interest from savings accounts, fixed deposit etc)

Note: Your total income is the sum of income under the aforementioned heads.

Do I get taxed on my total income?

Fortunately, no. A portion of your salary can be exempt from tax. A part of house rent allowance (component of salary) is exempt under Section 10(13A) if you are staying in a rented accommodation. There are other such exemptions for conveyance, medical allowance, leave travel allowance etc.

Additionally, there are deductions allowed under Section 80C to Section 80U from your total income. Commonly known deductions are:

1. Tax saving investments (PPF, EPF, ELSS, NSC, life insurance premium, home loan principal repayment etc) under Section 80C
2. Health Insurance Premium under Section 80D
3. Interest of education loans (Section 80E)
4. Interest payment of a housing loan (Section 24)
5. You taxable income reduces to the extent of these deductions availed.

Note: Total Income – Deductions = Taxable Income

I know my taxable income. How do I calculate my tax liability?

Once you have your taxable income, you can calculate your tax liability as per following table.

These tax slabs are for FY2015-2016 (for the financial year ending March 31, 2015).
Note: There are certain kinds of income that may be taxed at a different rate irrespective of you income tax slab. For instance, short-term capital gains on sale of equity mutual funds gets taxed at 15% while long-term capital gains on such sale are exempt. The only exception is when your taxable income does not exceed minimum tax exemption limit.

Illustration

Rajiv is 30 years old and has a total income of Rs 15 lakh. He is eligible for tax deductions worth Rs 3 lakh. We take a look at his tax liability. His taxable income is Rs 12 lakh (Rs 15 lakh minus Rs 3 lakh ).

So, the income tax liability is Rs 1.85 lakh.

Is there more to it?

If your taxable income exceeds Rs 1 crore, you will have to pay a surcharge of 12%, which shall be charged on the tax amount.Apart from this, education cess (including higher education cess) is levied at the rate of 3% on income tax and surcharge.In Ramesh’s case, there is no surcharge applicable since the total taxable income is less than Rs 1 crore. However, cess of Rs 5,550 (3% of Rs 1.85 lakh) will be levied. Hence, total liability increases to Rs 1,90,550.

How do I pay this income tax?

Typically, your employer will deduct TDS (tax deducted at source) from your salary before crediting to your bank account. The employer deposits this with the government. Hence, your employer estimates your tax liability (based on investment declarations made) and deducts TDS from your salary every month.

At the end of financial year, if the actual tax liability is greater than the TDS deducted, you must pay additional tax while filing income tax return. Alternatively, if excess TDS has been deduction, you can ask for refund while filing income tax return.

Hope the tax calculation is not a black box anymore.

For more visit : http://www.bigdecisions.com/

We have come across the word patent many times and we know that this simple single word has a significant meaning when it comes to enterprise and technology. So before you plan to write any patent documents or check articles and statements it is necessary that you know a little about the patent basics. Any good Toronto patent office will be able to guide you with the basic information in this matter; however, you can use the internet to make your own patent search Toronto  to know more about it. Here are few of the very basics but important things to know about patents.

A Brief History

Patent systems have been used throughout Europe for centuries. The issue became important to the U.S founding leaders that they started adding it to the basic description in Constitution (Article 1, Section 8). The formal patent system was established shortly after ratification of the Constitution when George Washington signed the Patent Act of 1790. One of the main principles of this system is to serve as an incentive for innovation. It can be said that this incentive is created by granting the owner of the patent, a temporary monopoly for his or her invention. Most drug and chemical companies use a patent. These days other companies use patent too.

The Structure of a Patent

A patent is generally structured into five different parts. This includes:

1.    Cover page

2.    Background

3.    Summary

4.    Specification

5.    Claims

The cover page contains various different elements including the title, dates, names of the inventor, grant, and the abstract. The background serves as a high-level overview of the subject area. The summary is similar to the abstract of the patent, but it comprises of several paragraphs. The specification is the how and what of the innovation. It will have the description of the process and the product details. Claims are unique and often have a complex language that defines exactly what are the innovations covered by a patent.

The Patent Application Process

The patent system of each country varies, mainly because of the laws and rules of the country. A Toronto patent office will be capable of guiding you more about the patent rules involved. Usually there four primary steps involved, but they generally vary from country to country. The general application process is:

•    Filing a provisional patent application

•    Filing a non-provisional application for patency

•    Prosecution of Application, and,

•    Post Grant.                          

In general, it takes few years for a standard application with priority to become granted patent. In certain cases, it takes 3-6 years of time. However, there are few methods through which the time can be reduced. This comes at an expense. Doing a patent search Toronto  and hiring a reputed patent company will ensure that the work is done more quickly than expected. A premier firm with experience and specialization in the patent will provide clients with better and quicker service for better entrepreneurial issues.