If you run a business out of your home, it’s important to understand the associated federal income tax deductions that you might be entitled to. That’s especially true this year, with new rules that make it easier than ever for some to claim a deduction.
Regular method of determining allowable deduction
Under this method, you determine your actual expenses relating to your home office. Deductible expenses can include both direct expenses and indirect expenses. Direct expenses are costs that apply only to your home office, like the cost of a second telephone line used exclusively for your business.
The ninth installment of Tinker and the Primes was held in Midwest City Aug. 5-7 with 500 participants at the Sheraton Midwest City Hotel at the Reed Conference Center.
This year’s event, just like always, focused on bringing together companies wishing to do business with military leaders and units affiliated with Tinker Air Force Base and the Air Force Sustainment Center. The three-day affair attracts hundreds of aerospace, defense and government contracting businesses and organizations from across North America.
Director Dave Burnett heads up production of the event, which is produced by the Defense Industry Alliance, Inc., a subsidiary of the Midwest City Chamber of Commerce.
The 2013 attendance figure was down from previous years, but Burnett said participants indicated the event may have been the best year yet for Tinker and the Primes.
Though a market downturn generally isn’t fun for most people, its timing can have a greater impact on some investors than on others. For example, a market downturn can have greater significance for retirees than for those who are still accumulating assets. And it has the most impact if it occurs early in retirement. Why? Because of something known as the "sequence of returns"--basically, the order in which events affect a portfolio. Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Health Management Associates, Inc. has seen an interesting twist this week with its primary shareholder receiving enough support to oust the company’s eight-member board of directors.
Glenview Capital Management announced Monday a majority of HMA’s shareholders approved Glenview’s recommended board of directors.
This pivotal move comes on the heels of HMA’s plans to be acquired by Community Health Systems, Inc.
A new partnership is being born between a longtime senior living facility and a local restaurateur.
Mike Murphy, owner of Murphy’s Grill in Midwest City, is closing down his eatery on Air Depot, and moving into Autumn House where some 175 residents live.
This new venture was not one that Murphy came up with all by himself. He was actually approached to assist Autumn House, who desperately has residents in need of good, quality nutrition.
Executive Director Donna McCraw said approximately one-third of the people at Autumn House are in need of on-site food preparation.
She said accessing the facility’s federal housing funds are not an option so that is why an outside vendor is needed.
For the past decade, Midwest City’s original Walmart building sat vacant at the intersection of Reno and Midwest Blvd. going on and then off the market.
Once a happening place and huge sales tax generator for the city, the empty store and surrounding 17 acres was unknowingly on one’s man radar.
Rod Baker of Baker First Commercial Real Estate had a vision to give the property new life, while also meeting the demand of a certain market in the Eastern Oklahoma County area.
Whether your vacation budget is big or small, no one likes to spend more than necessary when traveling. Here are some tips that can help you save on your next trip.
Air travel
Pick your travel times wisely. Popular wisdom holds that Tuesday and Wednesday are the least expensive days to travel, but this isn’t necessarily the case in all markets or at all times of the year. If possible, search for airfares within two or three days of your ideal departure date, and consider off-peak flight times.
Search for flights at more than one airport. If you’re willing to depart from any airport near you or arrive at any airport relatively close to your destination, you’ll have a better chance of snagging a lower-cost flight.
If you direct your own 401(k) plan investments you’ll need to consider the investment objectives, the risk and return characteristics, and the performance over time of each investment option offered by your plan in order to make sound investment decisions. Fees and expenses are factors that may affect your investment returns, and therefore impact your retirement income.
Why should I care about plan fees?
In a 401(k) plan, your account balance will determine the amount of retirement income you will receive from the plan. While contributions to your account and the earnings on your investments will increase your retirement income, fees and expenses paid by your plan may substantially reduce the balance of your account.
Assume that you’re an employee with 35 years until retirement and a current 401(k) account balance of $25,000. If returns on investments in your account over the next 35 years average 7% and fees and expenses reduce your average returns by 0.5%, your account balance will grow to $226,556 at retirement, even if there are no further contributions to your account.
Over the last 53 years, a handful of shop owners have called Penny & Irene’s home.
On March 15, Phil and Marci Hodge of Edmond took over ownership of the floral and gift shop located at 7556 SE 15th Street in Midwest City. They are settling in after the previous owner of 32 years Joann Johnson not only gave them some words of advice but helped in the transition.
Phil Hodge said in the fall prior to buying the shop, he had started looking for a new business venture after having his own landscaping and paint and dry wall companies, but he didn’t know where he would end up.
A business contact told him about the flower shop and immediately, Hodge said he found it "intriguing" and during his first visit, the place just felt right to him.
On Tuesday, Reuters reported news of a possible buyout of $4 billion Health Management Associates, the company that leases Midwest Regional Medical Center.
The top prospective buyer is Community Health Services, although several other companies have expressed interest, like HCA Holdings and LifePoint Hospitals, Reuters reported.
HCA Holdings locally operates OU Medical Center, the Edmond Regional Medical Center and Oklahoma Surgicare. The company operates 162 hospitals and 113 surgery centers total in 20 states and England.
LifePoint is a smaller company with a network of 23 hospitals in non-urban markets in 20 states, excluding Oklahoma.
Napoleon Bonaparte once said, "The best cure for the body is a quiet mind."
If the French military and political leader were alive today, he might call any of the sub sandwiches from Napoleon Deli the best cure instead.
The deli has been a popular Midwest City eatery the past 22 years. When it first opened its doors, the delicatessen served customers for 14 years on SE 29th Street. From there, original owners Rene and Gisele Fugarion and Iva Pitha moved to Douglas Blvd.where the business stayed for seven years in the Regional Square Shopping Center.
About two years ago, Myles Bartlett took over ownership after what he calls a "quiet" two-year negotiation process. Recently, he decided to relocate the deli to what he hopes to be its permanent home. The new location, which if one is not careful might be missed because the building faces north and not the roadway, is nestled between Soldier Creek Baptist Church and the Renaissance Women’s Clinic on the east side of Douglas, just south of SE 15th Street.
While competing in Taekwondo tournaments, Vu has been awarded with seven black belts. Trophies line the floor and plaques are hanging from the wall, serving as a reminder to those entering his studio that Vu has experienced his share of victory.
Now, Vu seeks the same for his studio in Spencer, which opened a couple of months ago. Its location is 8481 NE 23rd Street, Suite A.
While the martial arts may appear to be the primary focus, it’s not. Vu also instructs private lessons for ballroom dancing.
Social Security provides retirement income you can’t outlive. And, in addition to your own benefit, your spouse may be eligible to receive benefits based on your earnings record in the form of spousal benefits and survivor’s benefits. So, it’s easy to see why, with all of these potential benefit options, Social Security is an important source of retirement income. But, according to the Social Security Administration, only about 40% of an average worker’s preretirement income is replaced by Social Security (Source: SSA Publication No. 05-10035, July 2012). When trying to figure out how you’ll meet your retirement income needs, you’ll probably have to coordinate your Social Security benefits with other retirement income sources such as pensions, qualified retirement accounts (e.g., 401(k), IRA), and other personal savings. Wednesday, July 03, 2013
If you’re like most people, you probably evaluate your portfolio in terms of its return. However, return isn’t the only factor you should consider; also important is the amount of risk you take in pursuing those returns. The term "risk" is often understood to mean the risk of loss. However, a portfolio is generally a means to an end, such as paying for retirement or a child’s college tuition. In that context, "risk" also means the risk of not meeting your financial needs.
Risk-adjusted return
Let’s say that Don’s portfolio earns an average of 7% a year for 10 years. However, his annual returns have been very uneven; one year his return might be 11%, another year it might be down 10%. Meanwhile, Betty’s portfolio also has averaged a 7% annual return in the same time, but her returns have been more even; she hasn’t had spectacular years, but she has avoided any negative annual returns.
A health insurance Exchange is essentially a one-stop health insurance marketplace. Exchanges are not issuers of health insurance. Rather, they contract with insurance companies who then make their insurance coverage available for examination and purchase through the Exchange. In essence, Exchanges are designed to bring buyers and sellers of health insurance together, with the goal of increasing access to affordable coverage.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act does not require that anyone buy coverage through an Exchange. However, beginning in 2014, each state will have one Exchange for individuals and one for small businesses (or they may combine them). States have the option of running their own state-based Exchange or partnering with the federal government to operate a federally facilitated Exchange. States not making a choice default to a federally run Exchange.
Health Management Associates, Inc. (NYSE: HMA) today commented on a report regarding the company on the television program 60 Minutes.
“According to their report, 60 Minutes conducted more than a year of research and found no issues with the quality of care at Health Management hospitals, stating on the broadcast that ‘hardly anyone we talked to complained about the quality of care at HMA hospitals.’
“It was also notable that 60 Minutes failed to identify a single patient who had been inappropriately admitted from any of the company’s emergency rooms, including by the physicians interviewed.
“Neither 60 Minutes nor the physicians interviewed identified anyadmission decision in which a physician’s medical judgment was overridden by an HMA executive, much less to defraud Medicare.”
The recent 60 Minutes segment alleging that Emergency Room physicians are asked, even pressured, into admitting Medicare patients by Health Management Associates was completely off mark and, while I would normally simply ignore such a biased story, I feel compelled to defend my profession! What I find most offensive is the implication that my integrity and my commitment to providing the best possible medical care to my patients is somehow malleable. The thousands of nurses, doctors and mid-level providers who work in hospitals across the nation, providing vital services for their communities, should likewise be offended. CBS should be ashamed of this one-sided storyline thrown together and only offering statements made by a group of disgruntled terminated employees without any input from those of us in the trenches at HMA facilities. Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Health Management Associates, Inc., a corporation that owns 71 hospitals across 15 states, including Midwest Regional Medical Center, was the center of a 60 Minutes investigative report Sunday, June 9.
In the segment, called "The Price of Admission," 60 Minutes reporters alleged rising health care costs in the U.S. is partly because of an estimated $210 billion a year that goes toward unnecessary tests and treatments. Much of this, they reported, comes out of the pockets of taxpayers through Medicaid and Medicare programs.
In their report, 60 Minutes accused HMA of forcing its ER doctors to admit more patients in order to meet company quotas and increase revenues for the company. The claims, centered on various HMA hospitals, including the Medical Center of Southeastern Oklahoma in Durant, Okla., were made by former employees, who produced documents in support of their claims during interviews with reporter Steve Kroft.
The report was the result of a year-long investigation of HMA, including more than 100 current and former employees of the company, 60 Minutes stated. (Find the script from the report on www.eastwordnews.com). Sunday’s news report was a re-broadcast from December 2012 but included an update at the conclusion that HMA has reportedly seen a decrease in revenues and hospital admissions since the first 60 Minutes story aired, the show said.
In January 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a new mortgage regulation, which sets forth stricter underwriting requirements for mortgage lenders. The regulation requires lenders to ensure a borrower’s ability to repay a loan by taking a variety of underwriting precautions, including verifying income and assets and increasing debt-to-income ratios.
The regulation implements sections of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, and is aimed at protecting consumers by providing for a standardization of the mortgage loan underwriting process. However, some mortgage-industry experts fear there’s a chance that the regulation may end up making obtaining a mortgage loan more difficult than it has been in the past. And while lenders have until January 2014 for final compliance with the regulation, some have already begun to tighten up their mortgage lending requirements. As a result, you may want to consider the following tips when applying for a mortgage loan.
