5 Tips for Keeping Your Day Job While Launching Your Own Business

In an ideal world, you have at least a year’s salary saved up and you can quit your day job in order to focus 100 percent on your entrepreneurial venture. Unfortunately, that’s just not feasible for many entrepreneurs who end up being successful.

Maybe you have a family to take care of, massive student loans, debt or a mortgage you can’t negotiate lower, or perhaps the medical benefits of your current employer are just too good to let go. Many entrepreneurial mentors will tell you to quit your job, but if you do, who’s going to be putting dinner on the table?

Great news! It’s actually possible (at least for a little while) to keep a full-time job and be an entrepreneur. If you ask a sampling of successful entrepreneurs, many of them will say they had additional commitments when starting their business. I even started my first startup that sold while working at another job. A lot of entrepreneurs, like myself, have started companies in their home office, garage, or basement while pulling in an income from another source. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t get creative. You may want to work part-time, pursue a non-traditional income (such as flipping houses if that’s part of your forte) or give up unnecessary hobbies in order to work a full-time job and venture.

Holding a job and launching a business simultaneously isn’t a miracle, it’s simply being efficient. Here are a few strategies to make money and pursue your dream at the same time:

1. Consider your job in the right light.

No matter what kind of job you have, make sure you consider it as a blessing, not a curse. It isn’t holding you back, it’s keeping you afloat. You need that paycheck because otherwise you won't have enough money to live on while you get things going. You’re lucky, because capital from your current job is there every couple of weeks. Most investors want to see that entrepreneurs are investing in themselves first, and you need a paycheck or savings (preferably both) to make that happen.

2. Plan your days well.

It might sound impressive when someone works 36 hours straight, but you’re definitely not managing your time or your health with that approach. Actually, few businesses are built on that strategy. It’s the little, consistent daily things you do that add up to make or break a startup. Stop the busywork, get rid of distractions and give both your job and your venture the laser focused attention they deserve.

3. Maximize your time.

You have the same hours in each day as Oprah (really). Maybe you already know your job takes up 40 hours of your time each week (give or take), so account for it and figure out how to maximize all those other hours. Sleep should still be a priority, as should some daily exercise. Still, there are 72 hours in a week to do with as you wish beyond your 40 hours of work, so spend them well. Successful entrepreneurs manage their time, they don’t wish for more of it.

4. See your job as motivation.

The more necessary your need is to perform as an entrepreneur, the better you’ll do. Find “fuel” to pursue your venture. There are many ways to do this, whether you’re scared of pitching to an angel investor (your job means the knowledge that you still have an income if they say "no'') or you discover you’re wasting your commute listening to the radio (when you could be making hands-free business calls).

5. Outsource, outsource, outsource.

You know what your time is worth (if you don’t, calculate it!). Could you hire someone to do it better, faster and, ultimately, break even or make more money during that time? If so, do it.

Entrepreneurs know how to make the most of every situation and resource they have. It’s the best skill you can hone, and you don’t need to make a major change to start. Figure out today what you could do to better to maximize your time, get rid of dead weight and take care of both kinds of business.

4 thing you must know about Rent receipts & claiming HRA

Of all the tax benefits, HRA exemption is the most popular. Here are a few must know things about claiming HRA.

• Submit rent receipts

If you are claiming HRA through your employer, they’ll need a proof of rent payment to allow you exemption. The income tax act has made it the employer’s responsibility to collect rent receipts. On the basis of rent receipts submitted by you, your final tax liability shall be calculated and TDS adjusted accordingly.

• Landlord’s PAN details

If the annual rent paid by you is more than Rs 1,00,000, it is compulsory to get PAN of the landlord and report it to your employer. In case due to some reasons the landlord does not provide you the PAN or does not have one, you can ask for a declaration to this effect from the landlord with name and address of the landlord. And submit to employer and keep a copy safely in your records.

• HRA can be claimed directly in your tax return

If you have not been able to submit rent receipts to your employer, do not worry. HRA exemption can be directly claimed in your tax return. Calculate your HRA exemption and reduce the exempt portion from your total taxable salary. The net amount has to be shown under the head income from salary in your tax return.

• It may be possible to claim both HRA and home loan deduction

Under certain conditions you may be allowed to claim HRA as well as interest on home loan deduction. For example, you work in one city and live on rent but your family resides in another city and you buy a home where your family is. You can’t live in your own house since it’s far from your workplace and you take a house on rent closer to your office. There may be another situation applicable to you. In the above cases you may be allowed to claim HRA for the house on rent and also claim home loan deduction.

This article is by ClearTax (www.cleartax.in), India’s largest tax filing website where Individuals and Businesses can e-File their I-T Returns

Income Tax Return Filing for Beginners in India

For a beginner, income tax return filing may seem like a big deal. If this is your first time at it, here's are some pointers to help you sail.

1. Should I file a Return?
The IT department requires that one must file an income tax return if their total income is more than Rs 2,50,000. This total income is essentially the sum of income earned from all sources - salary, interest income from the bank, any rental income etc. Also the Rs 2,50,000 is your gross income before reducing any Deductions. Non-filing of returns may attract some penalties from the IT department.

2. All my tax is already deducted?
While, TDS may already have been deducted from your salary and other incomes, disclosing all your incomes and filing your return timely is your responsibility. So we go back to the thumb rule of 'file a return where your income exceeds Rs 2,50,000', whether or not TDS is deducted, all taxes may have been paid - the IT department still wants you to submit your IT Return.

3. My employer gave me a Form 16?
Your Form 16 is like a certificate your employer gave you for all the taxes they deducted before paying you salary. In fact, anyone who deducts tax before paying you is required to give you a certificate of it. Your Form 16 has other vital information which will help you file your return easily - so do remember to get hold of this document. If you changed jobs during the year, you'll have as many Form 16s.

4. I don't know what is my total Income?
Your income is the sum total of your income from the following heads - income from salaries, income from house property, income from capital gains, Income from business & profession and Income from other sources.
 

Income from Salary	Salary, HRA, other allowances basically all the money you receive while rendering your job as a result of your employment agreement.
Income from House Property	Income from your house that you have rented. Or if you have taken a loan for a house property that own and live in, the interest payout shall be your loss under this head. This loss can be adjusted against incomes from other heads.
Income from Capital Gains	Income from gain or loss when you sell a capital asset. For example, sale of shares, mutual funds etc.
Income from Business or Profession	Income/loss that arises as a result of carrying on a business or profession.
Income from Other Sources	This is the residual head -includes your income from savings bank accounts, fixed deposits, family pension or gifts received.

You can choose to disclose all your incomes to your employer and they will deduct tax on them. This saves you the hassle of paying taxes yourself. Now while filing your return, make sure you have considered all sources of income including interest on your savings bank account, interest from FDs or any shares you sold during the year. Your tax return should mention all your incomes.

5. What are deductions from income?
Certain deductions are available under section 80C to 80U. These deductions are allowed from your gross income and may help you move down a slab as well as reduce your tax outgo, so make the most of them. Your contributions to EPF, deposits to PPF, life insurance premium payments are all eligible to be deducted under section 80C. The maximum amount you can claim under section 80C is Rs 1,50,000 for financial year 2014-15. That's a lot of reduction from your gross income. If you have taken health insurance, a deduction is allowed under section 80D, for interest payment on education loans deduction can be claimed under section 80E and a lot of other deductions are available too, if you meet the conditions listed therein.

6. How do I go about filing my return?
You can simply upload your Form 16 on ClearTax and populate your return. You can also go head by head and keep adding details of your incomes. Make sure you have mentioned all the deductions you want to claim. Use your Form 26AS to get a sense of all the TDS that has been deducted against your PAN number and take credit of this TDS against your final tax liability. Or if excess TDS has been deducted, you may be in a refund situation. Form 26AS will also help you identify all the incomes you need to report if they've been subjected to TDS. You'll see your interest income from the bank and the TDS deducted on it, so you can add the income under the head 'income from other sources' and take credit for TDS deducted. Of course, your return must include all incomes, whether or not TDS has been deducted on them. Do remember to enter your personal information like PAN, phone number, email address and bank account number accurately. Usually salary returns are not complex and you'll be done in a matter of few minutes.

Hope this helps you succeed at filing your return the first time.

Disclaimer: All information in this article has been provided by Cleartax.in and Ezeeguide.blogspot.com is not responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the same.