Minding Her Own Business, 4E (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Taxes don't differentiate between women and men-the complexity of the laws leaves everyone feeling confused!..." (more)
Key Phrases: Attach Schedule, Margie Leong, Third City Bank (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

An excellent tool..to help decipher the complex and confused tax system. -- Home Business Magazine

Clearly written and superbly easy to use. One of the best on the essentials of keeping books and paying taxes. -- Atlanta Business Chronicle

For new entrepreneurs of any gender, it lays out the gritty details in clear language. -- Wall Street Journal.com

If you have your own business, or are thinking about starting one, you need this book. -- Terry Savage, Columnist Chicago Sun Times

Minding Her Own Business is a lifesaver for anyone who doesn't cite accounting as one of her strong points. -- Entrepreneur Magazine (June 2005)

One of the best general record keeping and tax advice publications to come along. -- HOW - The Bottomline Design Magazine

The fun of this nuts-and-bolts guide lies in Zobel's ability to comfort as well as educate. -- San Francisco Chronicle

Woman business owners shouldn't be without this book. It's like having a tax professional by your side at all times. -- Anna Marks, Publisher Bay Area BusinessWoman

Zobel has the ability to explain financial issues in a clear and understandable manner. -- Chicago Sun Times

Product Description

This easy-to-read and understand book is invaluable for women (and men) who are already in business or just starting to be self-employed, and who are trying to learn exactly what tax responsibilities they have.

Not just a tax-season book, but a year round guide, Minding Her Own Business provides complete tax and recordkeeping information for self-employed people and independent contractors. Readers will learn about the different business entities (sole-proprietor, LLC, corporation, partnership), what the tax differences are between being an employee and a self-employed person, which business expenses are deductible and what proof the IRS expects to see, how to reduce your chances of being audited, whether you need to make quarterly estimated tax payments (and how to calculate the amount to send), how to deduct a home office (or should you?), whether you can deduct your business vehicle (and what records you need), how to choose a tax preparer or a bookkeeper, what taxes self-employed people pay, which tax forms are filed by sole proprietors, whether it’s a good idea to prepare your own return using a tax preparation program, how to set up a simple record keeping system, and much much more.

This recently published 4th edition of Minding Her Own Business contains the general information you'll need to prepare your own 2004 tax return (or to get ready your materials for your preparer) and also for doing your 2005 tax planning.

Unlike some tax books, Minding Her Own Business is not an academic book. It is not written in legal language. It was written by a tax preparer (enrolled agent) who has been preparing tax returns for self employed people for more than 25 years. She has prepared over 8,000 tax returns and currently has 400 tax clients with whom she uses this information every day! The author has also been teaching small business tax seminars throughout the country for more than 20 years so she has a very good idea of what questions self-employed people have about taxes. You’ll find those questions (and the answers) inside Minding Her Own Business.

Terry Savage in the Chicago Sun-Times wrote about Minding Her Own Business, 'If you have your own business or are thinking about starting one, you need this book.'

Paul Tulenko in The Atlanta Business Chronicle wrote: 'Clearly written and superbly easy to use. One of the best I've seen on the essentials of keeping books and paying taxes.'

Anna Marks, publisher of Bay Area BusinessWoman wrote "Women business owners should not be without this book. It's like having a tax professional by your side at all times."

Small business columnist Jane Applegate wrote, "Minding Her Own Business is a great addition to anyone’s business library. Zobel has the ability to explain financial issues in a clear and understandable manner."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Sphinx Publishing; 4 Updated edition (January 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572484551
• ISBN-13: 978-1572484559
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #143,398 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #82 in	Books > Business & Investing > Women & Business

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TaxMama Says Buy This, June 25, 2001

By	TaxMama "Your TaxMama" (Northridge, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Minding Her Own Business: The Self-Employed Woman's Guide to Taxes and Recordkeeping (Paperback)

After working with small businesses and taxes for over 20 years, I've come to the conclusion that the fastest way throw money away is to start a business - without knowing how to do your books.

About half of my tax practice involves working with new clients who have gotten into trouble with IRS because: 1) Once they started a business, they didn't know how to figure out their tax returns. 2) They got into trouble with payroll taxes - by not filing them, or not paying them, or thinking they didn't have employees 3) Their business did well, but when it came time to pay the taxes on their successful business, there was no money.

Well, I don't want to see more people in trouble. So, ever since I discovered Jan's book, I have been telling my readers and clients to buy it.

They LOVE the book (and not just the women, either). Jan puts information in terms YOU will understand.

And with all of her years of experience, she knows just what kind of problems real people run up against. So there are lots of practical tools and tips to help you succeed, not just to keep your taxes in line.

And let me tell you, the price of Jan's book is much less than a three-hour consultation with me! (or any tax pro)

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Make Sure You're Buying the Latest Edition, March 1, 2005

By	Jan Zobel "tax preparer" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Hi, I'm the author of Minding Her Own Business and I want to make sure you're buying the most recent edition of this book so that you're getting the most current tax information. The 3rd edition (published in 2000) is out-of-print, even though I can't get Amazon.com to indicate that. The cover of the 3rd edition is black and white, with some red. The 4th edition (the one you want to buy) was published in January 2005 and the cover has bright green, yellow, and orange colors. If you're looking at the cover of the 3rd edition, search on my name (Jan Zobel) until it brings up the 4th edition. Enjoy the book and Many Happy Returns!!

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fairly Good Introduction To Business Taxes, March 12, 2002

By	Peter Hupalo (MN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Minding Her Own Business: The Self-Employed Woman's Guide to Taxes and Recordkeeping (Paperback)

Jan Zobel is an enrolled agent with the IRS and has prepared over 6,000 tax returns. Her book, "Minding Her Own Business: The Self-Employed Woman's Guide to Taxes and Recordkeeping" draws upon her experience to help people new to small business get a basic understanding of recordkeeping, accounting, and taxation issues that affect small business.

The book covers setting up a receipts sheet and a disbursement schedule. "Minding Her Own Business" is written mainly for sole proprietors. The book is much like a "Small-Time Operator" for women.

If you wonder what expenses are deductible or how to minimize the chances of an IRS audit, the book has excellent chapters. One hint from Zobel's experience is "The More you break down your expense categories, the less chance of being audited." The advice is solid.

There is also an excellent discussion of the difference between independent contractors and employees. (this info is widely available free online) And, another great chapter discusses (with worked-out example) of how to make your quarterly estimated tax payments.

The only weakness of "Minding Her Own Business" is that it only teaches single-entry bookkeeping and not the more robust double-entry accounting. (And, there are many good introductions to basic recordkeeping for business owners) Yet, the simplified single-entry accounting is still preferred by many small business owners. Also, given Zobel's vast experience, I would like to see a chapter devoted to S-Corporation taxes and a more thorough discussion of financial statements.

Overall, if you are new to taxes and recordkeeping, I recommend this book.

Peter Hupalo, Author of "Thinking Like An Entrepreneur."