Archive for June, 2008
Is WAH Money Free Money? Taxman Implications
Work at home income is considered taxable income so it should be claimed at tax time. If you earn an income from any source, it shoudn’t be considered tax-free. Take care of your taxes promptly to avoid being audited.
Do WAH Jobs Take Off Tax?
Some companies that pay telecommuters pay them and withdraw applicable employment taxes with you if you work directly for them but the vast majority of companies leave you to deal with your own taxes. Whether or not you get any type of W-9 or T-4, etc at tax time, you are not off the hook.
What does that mean?
It means you need to be organized if you’re making an online income from many sources. Freelance professionals should consider buying tax or accounting software that enables them to track their work invoices and their expenses.
Some work at home professionals submit quarterly reports to their government and some experienced internet professionals hire an accountant. Here are some tips:
Track Your Income and Your Expenses
-Assign a work order # to each client you work with. You might create a system based on a software package or even on a spreadsheet with numbers you’ve assigned.
-Keep all bank statements and note any income that came in through direct deposits, and cheques.
-Keep track of payments received through places like PayPal or Wire transfer companies such as MoneyBookers.
-Keep track of your expenses.
Expenses may be helpful to you at tax time as a self-employed individual so keep track of office supplies and other expenses related to your at home job.
Setting up PayPal for Your Work at Home Income
PayPal is a company owned by eBay that allows you to buy online without a credit card. This service can also be used to get paid for your online income. The way it works is quite simple and best of all, it’s secure.
Why Use PayPal?
PayPal is like a go-between service between the Internet and your bank account. If you receive money in PayPal, you can transfer it to your account without revealing personal financial details and if you want to buy something online, you can transfer the money to someone else. In the WAH world, getting paid is the whole point to it all and by having PayPal you can earn money without waiting for cheques to arrive in the mail.
Setting up Your Account
Setting up an account is simple. Sign up at: www.PayPal.com and enter your details. Be sure that you have your bank account information handy as you’ll need to input it. Information needed is avaialble on your personal checks and if you need specific information about bank transit numbers, etc. you can contact your bank or visit their website.
PayPal Transfers
Once your details are in, you’ll need to watch your account. PayPal will send you two small deposits (generally below $1.00 each) and to confirm your bank account, you’ll need to input those exact amounts into the PayPal system which happens within a few business days. Then you’re ready to start using your account. Someone can pay you by having your e-mail address associated with your PayPal account and once you’ve received a payment, you’ll get an e-mail notifying you the payment is either live or pending clearance of an e-check.
Lead Time for Payment Clearance Through PayPal
Generally, e-checks take 5-10 days to clear and for most people, PayPal transfers into your bank account take 2-3 business days.
Getting Paid To Sign Up For Offers
Have you seen websites that want you to join and get paid to sign up for offers? This post will tell you how GPT sites generally work.
Why do websites want to pay you to sign up for things?
There are two reasons:
1. They make a commission bigger than what they’re paying you through affiliate marketing
2. They keep you signing up for ages because there’s typically a minimum payout or a points program
Companies might offer $5 for every sale. A website like this will pay you $1 or $2 for signing up for something and they’ll pocket the balance. Generally these sites have listings of things like cd and dvd clubs, book clubs, online contests, survey websites, etc. and generally when you sign up for these sites you’re providing your personal details so that the owner of that offer plans to agressively target you for future campaigns. It’s something like giving you a free sample in the hopes you’ll buy something more expensive later.
Are paid offers worthwhile?
This depends on many factors including your own interest levels. They can be. It depends on how many offers are present that you really are interested in, how often more offers are added and it’ll depend on the payout level. If the payout level is low, you can find that you sign up for several offers and never get paid because you’ll never quite reach that magical payout level. Or, you could only hit it by signing up for things you’re less than interested in. You could find yourself on the receiving end of getting a very large amount of junk mail and spam. Before you sign up, you could look at how many offers listed would interest you and count up the rewards to see how close that would bring you to payout levels.
If you really want to earn by affiliate marketing, instead learn to be an affiliate marketer yourself. You can keep all the commissions, this way.
