But what does this mean for your business? Learn more about the current state of online sales tax laws and how a small business can navigate tax complexities. How Do Internet Sales Tax Laws Work? Sales taxes are the domain of states in the U.S., and most states have different laws for businesses that sell products and services. In addition, localities, like cities and counties, have sales tax laws in 38 states....

What Are Personal Checks? Like all checks, personal checks are pieces of paper for making payments. To write a check, you fill in information about who you want to pay, provide the check to the payee, and your bank eventually sends money to the recipient’s account electronically. Personal checks pay from personal accounts—they don’t belong to businesses, governments, or other organizations. Why It Matters You can use checks to pay for almost anything....

Get Your Finances in Order Your credit reports are an ongoing record of how you’ve managed your finances. You should know exactly what they say about your financial history before you apply for a mortgage. These reports and your credit score play an important role in the loan approval process, and they also determine your interest rate and other loan terms that lenders will offer you. You might be surprised by what you find when you look at your credit reports because errors are not uncommon....

Here’s why: Accountants have important roles in virtually any business, organization, or government agency that handles money. Companies that aren’t large enough to hire in-house accounting staff often hire accountants as outside contractors. Accountants also work for financial advisory firms and banks, or as tax advisers. Therefore, some questions you’ll get when you’re interviewing as an accountant are industry-specific. But others are common in any accounting interview, regardless of industry....

Find out how to make an aggressive mutual fund portfolio and learn some ways you can reduce the risks and enjoy the higher returns. Decide Whether It’s Right for You There are three basic types of portfolios: aggressive, moderate, and conservative. Choosing the right one is like choosing rides at a park; the worst mistake you can make is to choose a ride that frightens you. When you invest, you can jump off the ride if it becomes too scary, but you’d have to sell your funds in the middle of a down market though....

American Express is joining the hot “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) trend by giving cardholders a way to finance their flight purchases for a fixed monthly fee. The credit card industry also brought us news of another U.S. Bank travel rewards card and fresh credit card debt statistics. This credit card news roundup contains what you should know about the cards in your wallet and new product releases, offers, or reports that are worth staying on top of, much like the rising price of gas....

Once you’re made an authorized user on a credit card, the full account history will only be added to your credit report if your lender chooses to report it. If your card issuer does report your history as an authorized user, you can receive a credit score boost as long as you have a long and positive account history. Being added as an authorized user is a good way to jumpstart your credit history if you’re new to credit or you have a troubled credit history....

How ACH Works The ACH system consists of computers working together to process payments automatically. There’s no need to manually handle payments (on your part or the biller’s). ACH is a “batch” processing system that handles millions of payments at the end of the day. The network uses two central “clearing houses.” All requests run through either the Federal Reserve or the Clearing House. This allows for efficient matching and processing among numerous financial institutions....

“Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels, and we believe it has a promising future, but this cannot come at great cost to the environment,” Musk posted on Twitter Wednesday. The environmental cost is skyrocketing: The Bitcoin network’s annual electrical energy use—as measured in the consumption index—has increased more than 12-fold since 2017 as the cryptocurrency has become a popular investment, Digicomonist estimates. A single transaction uses the same amount of power as an average U....

An employer might ask an open-ended question for a variety of reasons. Generally, they will ask an open-ended question to get a sense of your personality and to see if you will fit into the company culture. They might also ask this kind of question to see if you have the qualities and experience needed for the job. Open-ended questions can feel intimidating because there are so many different ways you can answer them....

In this article, we will look at the case for investing in international small-cap stocks and identify some of the best funds for building exposure into your portfolio. Why Invest in Small-Caps? Small-cap stocks are generally defined as publicly traded companies with a market capitalization of less than US$2 billion. While that may not seem like a small number, the odds are that your portfolio holds mostly large-cap stocks worth US$10 billion or more....

Often auctioned off at bargain-basement prices, they come with seemingly low up-front costs, leaving plenty of room in your budget for some paint, a few contractors, and that fully personalized home you’ve been dreaming of. But foreclosed properties aren’t for everyone — no matter how handy you might be. Are you thinking of buying a foreclosed home at auction? Make sure you know what you’re getting into first. How Foreclosed Property Auctions Work Foreclosed property auctions come in a number of formats and vary depending on your state and county....

Most employers will not take this measure, but it makes sense to be prepared should the issue arise. In some locations, employers are prohibited from asking. In others, there are no legal guidelines regarding salary information requests. If you do need to provide them but don’t have copies of your W-2 forms, you can get them from your previous employers or the Internal Revenue Service. Why Employers Request W2s Employers in certain fields like finance and sales will be more likely to ask for verification, since salaries can vary greatly....

Let’s review the rule in detail so you can make informed buying decisions, learn rationale behind the 20% figure, and explore alternatives so you can decide on the right down payment amount. What Is the 20% Down Payment Rule of Thumb? The 20% down payment rule suggests that you pay at least 20% of your home’s purchase price out of your own funds. You may borrow the rest of the money needed to complete the purchase....

In some states, an unemployed worker can sometimes receive partial benefits if they work less than a full week and earn a certain amount of money—and if they meet other requirements. Review information on partial unemployment benefits, who is eligible to receive them, and guidelines for receiving compensation. Eligibility for Partial Unemployment Benefits Partial unemployment benefits are available to both unemployed and part-time employees. Most people who collect unemployment are out of work, but partial unemployment benefits allow those who are still working to claim aid as well....

How Business Tax Refunds Work The secret to getting a business tax refund is to pay the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) more during the year than your total tax bill. You must be able to estimate the amount of tax you might owe during the year and pay that amount plus more. Your business income is just a part of total taxable income for most business owners, so they must factor in all income sources....

Of 436 surveyed parents likely eligible because they have kids under 18, only half were expecting to receive any money and only 71% knew of its existence, Ally said. Of the parents who thought they wouldn’t get the credit, not knowing how to be paid or otherwise access the funds was the most common reason for not expecting the payments. Not only that, but at least 47% of parents were off the mark when estimating how much their monthly payments would be....

In 2015 and 2016, huge price swings made China’s stock market seem like a casino. One reason for the volatility was that the market is thinly traded. Only 7% of China’s population own stocks. Since participation is so low, a few wealthy investors own 80% of tradable shares. They drive the price swings in China’s stock market. China’s leaders encourage investment as part of economic reform. A healthy stock market will fund innovative smaller companies and boost China’s economic growth....

Matej Kastelic / EyeEm March marked the seventh consecutive month of rising consumer credit balances, thanks to upticks in both revolving credit (mostly credit card balances) and non-revolving credit (car, personal, and student loan balances), according to the Federal Reserve’s latest consumer credit report released Friday. It’s also the first time both types of credit have increased in tandem since October 2019. The U.S. revolving debt balance increased $6.4 billion in March to $980....

Elevated saving rates illustrate one of the oddities of the pandemic economy: Despite all the upheavals, as a whole, personal finances have been pretty healthy. Stimulus checks, unemployment benefits, and other government relief have bolstered bank accounts, as have rising wages—a symptom of the high demand for workers. But with those relief programs over, and inflation taking its toll, that could be changing. The decreased saving is a warning sign for household budgets as oil supply disruptions from the war in Ukraine threaten to drive up gas prices and worsen inflation, which is already running at its highest in nearly four decades....