If you run an office from home then you can expect to have higher domestic bills. Why you may ask, well for one you will be using more electricity as you will be using your computer throughout the day and other appliances. You will also use more gas for central heating; you may even notice your water bills going up a small amount too.If you are working from home but are employed by a company then you are entitled to claim a proportion of these expenses back against your tax bill at the end of the financial year. But HM Revenue and Customs in Britain would rather that you didn’t. Back in 2005 it capped the tax relief available for gas, electric, water and phone bills to just two pounds a week for employed workers. This is as in effect by working from home you are saving your company money. The more people a company has working from home, the less it needs to spend on bills of their own such as electricity, gas, rent for premises etc.So why should the company keep those savings and expect the taxman to cover your costs? This is because it is down to your employer to reimburse you any costs by working from home, not the taxman. But alas more often than not the company will not as they see it that you are benefiting as you do not have to pay for travel costs.If you are self-employed working from home then it is a different story, and a better one. You can claim some of your home bills such as gas, electric, phone and the rent against tax. But you do need to demonstrate that your home office is only used for business purposes. So if you are working in the corner of your kitchen then I don’t think it will go down very well with the taxman. The easiest way to work out what you are entitled to is by square footage, so for instance if your home office takes up fifteen percent of your home then as a rule of thumb you can claim fifteen percent back of your bill s against tax.My advice is if you are running an office out of your home, then it is best to speak to an accountant to calculate it for you. They know the exact amounts you can claim back and how. They are the experts so ensure that you inform your accountant exactly what you use for business purposes in your home.
Car Accident Settlements – How to Negotiate More Money With the Auto Insurance Adjuster
To get more money from your car accident settlements, you need to understand how to negotiate with an auto claims adjuster.Negotiating with an auto claims adjuster is tough. If you are unprepared, then you can end up losing thousands of dollars in your car accident claims.To begin you need to know…Who is the Car Insurance Adjuster?
The auto claims adjuster is the person who will evaluate what your auto accident settlement is actually worth.The auto insurance adjuster will:Collect and review the facts of your auto accident.
Check if you are covered under an auto insurance policy.
Investigate who was at fault for the accident.
Negotiate with you about your final settlement.
Write a check for your settlement. However, the main goal of the car insurance adjuster is to settle your accident claim quickly and cheaply. This is why the insurance company hires them and this is how it rates their performance. An insurance adjuster, who takes too long to close auto accident claims or is unable to get low car insurance settlement, is not going to make their claims supervisor happy.When you are negotiating your car insurance settlement, the two most important things you should focus on are…1. Never Rush to Finish Your Auto Insurance Settlements
The auto insurance adjuster will try to pressure you to settle your auto accident claim quickly. This is because the longer an auto settlement takes, the more money an insurance company risks of losing.You should never settle your car accident claims quickly. Even though you may want a quick accident settlement, to get your money faster and avoid the headache of dealing with the insurance companies, you will only hurt yourself in the long run.Getting a quick auto insurance settlement will not help you, if you don’t take the time to get accurate car repair estimates. A quick settlement will not help you, if your car accident injuries are not properly diagnosed and treated.These things will end up costing you a lot more money in the long run. Settling the claims quickly helps the insurance company, not you. So take your time analyzing your accident claims, speaking with doctors, getting multiple car repair estimates, and fully recovering before closing your auto insurance settlements.2. Never Accept the First Car Accident Settlement Offer
It is a common practice amongst auto claims adjusters, to give you their lowest settlement offer first. Remember, the claims adjuster’s job is to save the insurance company money, not you.The low settlement offer helps the auto claims adjuster see how desperate you are to settle. If you take the first offer, you will have missed out on a lot more money from your auto accident settlements. This is because the auto claims adjuster always has more money to negotiate with. The auto claims adjuster is given a settlement range to work with. This settlements range, depends on the how experienced the auto insurance adjuster is.For example, a relatively inexperienced adjuster may be given a range of $5,000 to $10,000. While a more experience adjuster may have $10,000-$25,000 to close a claim with.You most likely won’t know the car accident settlement range of your adjuster, but you should never accept the first offer.These are some of the most common negotiating tactics, used by the auto insurance adjuster, to lower your car accident settlements.