Wise Decision

July 15, 2009

Standard Mileage Rate vs Actual Vehicle Expenses 2009, 2010

You may know that because the IRS provides a standard mileage rate for the deduction of vehicle expenses used in your business, you are allowed to choose between this rate and the actual expenses you incur in calculating this deduction.

Because the mileage rate includes nearly all of the expenses you incur it is typically much easier to apply. All you need are mileage logs and the current rate allowed by the IRS.

But it may not always provide the best deduction you can get. By the time you add up all of the expenses you are entitled to for actual expenses, it’s not unlikely they will exceed the standard rate amount you could take.

Actual expenses include depreciation, licenses, gas, oil, tolls, lease payments, insurance, garage rental, parking, registration fees, repairs, maintenance, tire costs, etc. Expenses for personal property taxes and parking are deductible even if you do take the standard mileage deduction.

As of October 2008, the current standard mileage rate is 58.5 cents per mile. Given that gas prices have recently been declining, the standard rate looks very attractive presently, but it is still a good idea to run both calculations to be sure you’re deducting as much as you can.

If you will ever use the standard mileage deduction, you are required to use it in the first year your vehicle is in service for business purposes. There are also situations for which the tax law prohibits a vehicle user from taking the standard mileage rate.

These include:

  • If the owner uses five or more vehicles in a business;

  • If a Section 179 deduction was taken on the purchase of the vehicle;
  • If the vehicle is leased and the actual expenses have ever been used to calculate the deduction.

Making a careful and wise decision about how you calculate the deduction you take for vehicle usage can save you a lot of money on your taxes. Do the right thing for yourself.

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Filed under Beyond Random Ramblings by Arjuna

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January 22, 2009

The Best Free Soccer Drills That You Must Practice

There is an old adage, practice makes perfect. Well, in soccer that’s spot on. If you aspire to be one of the best at soccer then it is a must to practice. If your thinking that practicing with your team will cut it, your wrong. You have to be willing to devout some time on your own to developing your game. To become that star, you can practice with some of the free soccer drills below for starters.

The first drill is done individually and is called juggling. Now, you will most definitely not have the time or space to juggle a ball in a game but juggling lays the ground work for a lot of other soccer skills. The cool thing about this is that you can do this by yourself and it’s fun.

As you get better at juggling you’ll begin to notice your ball control skills grow as well as a good feel for the ball. This helps your dribbling and trapping ability which are very important in a game. Juggling also strengthens concentration, balance and the ability to control the ball with both feet. All that is necessary is to juggle a half an hour a day to help lay the ground work for other skills.

The next thing you’ll want to practice is dribbling. To be most effective, you should do this drill in pairs. There are so many instances in game play where you’ll need to take on an opponent and get past them. The more practice you have with one on one dribbling the better you’ll be when it really counts, in a game.

It would be a wise decision to play both roles when practicing. In one turn you’ll want to be the attacker and on the next you’ll want to be the defender. To make it more interesting, turn it into a game where if you get past the person your practicing with you score.

Finally we have one touch passing. This is best done in groups with your teammates. This drill will help in your ball handling skills and also work on your agility. This drill encompasses four players, 2 on each side standing roughly ten feet apart. To start, just pass the ball to someone on the opposing side by only touching it once. As you receive the ball get rid of it as quickly as you can by passing it to someone on the other side. After a short bit of time you should try and speed it up some to increase skill.

Practicing drills like these will build a solid foundation for other skills to come. Be sure to practice these top soccer drills on a regular basis. You would be hard pressed to find a great player who doesn’t practice on their own time. How do you think they became so great.

Filed under Recreation and Sports by Joshua

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