I was a self-employed consultant for part of 2013 and want to make sure I don�� miss any tax breaks when filing this year. I��e never had self-employed income before. What deductions can I take?
SEE ALSO: Most-Overlooked Tax DeductionsWhether you were self-employed during 2013 or just have some freelance income on the side, you��l generally need to file Schedule C (or Schedule C-EZ) with your taxes this year. But you��l also be able to take a variety of deductions. Don�� forget the following:
Equipment, supplies and advertising. You can deduct the cost of equipment you buy for your office, such as a computer, printer, scanner, shredder, filing cabinets, phone system and a dedicated business phone line. Don�� forget to keep receipts for business supplies, such as printer cartridges, paper, pens and other office expenses, which you can also write off. And you can deduct the cost of advertising and marketing, such as ads for your business, as well as mailing and shipping.
Top 10 Oil Companies To Own For 2015: Gran Tierra Energy Inc (GTE)
Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (Gran Tierra) is an independent international energy company engaged in oil and gas acquisition, exploration, development and production. Gran Tierra owns oil and gas properties in Colombia, Argentina, Peru and Brazil. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company focused on development of producing fields and generation of exploration prospects in Colombia, including the acquisition of three blocks in the Petrolifera acquisition and the acquisition of a working interest in the Llanos 22 Block. It delivers its oil to Ecopetrol S.A. (Ecopetrol) through its transportation facilities, which include pipelines, gathering systems and trucking. On March 18, 2011, the Company acquired of all the issued and outstanding common shares and warrants of Petrolifera Petroleum Limited (Petrolifera). Advisors' Opinion:- [By Richard Moroney]
Based in Canada, Gran Tierra Energy (GTE) explores for oil and gas in Colombia, Argentina, Peru, and Brazil. In August, management raised its full-year production guidance, with the midpoint implying 27% growth.
- [By Eric Lam]
Bankers Petroleum Ltd. and Legacy Oil & Gas Inc. climbed at least 4.1 percent as the price of crude advanced. Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (GTE) added 4.7 percent after boosting its 2013 production forecasts. Bank of Montreal added 0.6 percent after naming a chief operating officer. Argonaut Gold Inc. dropped 6.5 percent to pace losses among metals miners. SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. sank 4.5 percent after cutting its earnings forecast for the year.
- [By Caiman Valores]
The volume of Whitecap's proved and probable reserves also compares favorably to many of the company's peers, as shown by the chart below being higher than similarly sized Canadian peers Gran Tierra Energy (GTE) and Petrominerales (PMGLF.PK).
- [By Richard Moroney]
Gran Tierra Energy (GTE) ranks among the very best stocks in Quadrix. Shares earn the maximum Overall score of 100, ranking them Number One among the 165 energy exploration stocks in our research universe.
Top Shipping Companies For 2014: Great Plains Energy Inc (GXP)
Great Plains Energy Incorporated (Great Plains Energy), incorporated on February 26, 2001, is a public utility holding company. The Company does not own or operate any assets other than the stock of its subsidiaries. Great Plains Energy�� wholly owned direct subsidiaries with operations or active subsidiaries includes Kansas City Power & Light Company (KCP&L), and KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations Company (GMO). The Company is engaged in the business segment of electric utility. The electric utility segment consists of KCP&L, a regulated utility, and GMO�� regulated utility operations, which include its Missouri Public Service and St. Joseph Light & Power (L&P) divisions. Electric utility serves approximately 825,300 customers located in western Missouri and eastern Kansas.
KCP&L is an integrated, regulated electric utility that provides electricity to customers in the states of Missouri and Kansas. KCP&L has one active wholly owned subsidiary, Kansas City Power & Light Receivables Company (Receivables Company). GMO is an integrated, regulated electric utility that provides electricity to customers in the state of Missouri. GMO also provides regulated steam service to certain customers in the St. Joseph, Missouri area. GMO wholly owns MPS Merchant Services, Inc. (MPS Merchant), which has certain long-term natural gas contracts remaining from its former non-regulated trading operations.
Customers include approximately 726,100 residences, 96,600 commercial firms, and 2,600 industrials, municipalities and other electric utilities. During the year ended December 31, 2012, electric utility�� retail revenues averaged approximately 90% of its total operating revenues. Wholesale firm power, bulk power sales and miscellaneous electric revenues accounted for the remainder of electric utility�� revenues. During 2012, electric utility�� total electric revenues were 100% of Great Plains Energy�� revenues. During 2012, electric utility�� net income accounted for approximately! 108%, of Great Plains Energy�� income from continuing operations, respectively.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By David Dittman]
Question: It�� not a popular name, but what are your thoughts on Great Plains Energy Inc (NYSE: GXP) with regard to dividend hikes and price?
Answer: I have Great Plains Energy rated ��old��right now. But 100 percent of revenue is regulated–i.e., predictable and stable–and 2013 earnings growth was outstanding due to a resurgent regional economy.
- [By Eric Volkman]
Great Plains Energy (NYSE: GXP ) is keeping its dividend as level as the geographical feature in its company name. The company will distribute $0.2175 per share of its common stock on June 20 to shareholders of record as of May 20.� This amount matches the company's previous two disbursements, the most recent of which was paid in March. Before that, Great Plains handed out $0.2125.
- [By David Dittman]
Answer: It’s too soon to say what the financial impact of the Winnipeg incident will have on TransCanada. The impact for its customers, including Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL) and Great Plains Energy (NYSE: GXP), may be more acute in the short term. TransCanada will definitely be under increased regulatory scrutiny.
I’m a fan of TransCanada for the long term. It has a solid, diverse and growing presence in North American energy infrastructure. It’s about much more than Keystone XL.
Top Shipping Companies For 2014: EMC Insurance Group Inc. (EMCI)
EMC Insurance Group Inc., an insurance holding company, engages in property and casualty insurance, and reinsurance activities. It operates in two segments, Property and Casualty Insurance, and Reinsurance. The Property and Casualty Insurance segment writes commercial and personal lines of insurance with a focus on medium-sized commercial accounts. Its commercial lines of insurance products comprise automobile, property, workers� compensation, and liability, as well as other products that provide protection against burglary and theft loss, aircraft, marine, and other types of losses; and personal lines of insurance products include automobile, property, and liability. The Reinsurance segment provides reinsurance for other insurers and reinsurers. The company serves small to medium-sized businesses, institutions, and individual consumers. EMC Insurance Group Inc. sells its products through independent insurance agents. The company was founded in 1974 and is headquartered i n Des Moines, Iowa. EMC Insurance Group Inc. is a subsidiary of Employers Mutual Casualty Company.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Caroline Bennett]
EMC Insurance (NASDAQ: EMCI ) this week declared plans to keep its quarterly dividend payout steady at $0.21 per share of common stock.
Top Shipping Companies For 2014: CNA Financial Corp (CNA)
CNA Financial Corporation (CNAF), incorporated in 1967, is an insurance holding company. The Company�� core business commercial property and casualty insurance operations operate in two segments: CNA Specialty and CNA Commercial. Its non-core businesses are managed in two business segments: Life & Group Non-Core and Corporate & Other Non-Core. The Company�� insurance products primarily include commercial property and casualty coverages, including surety. Its services include risk management, information services, and warranty and claims administration. Its products and services are marketed through independent agents, brokers and managing general underwriters to a wide variety of customers, including small, medium and large businesses, associations, professionals and other groups. CNA's property and casualty and remaining life and group insurance operations are primarily conducted by Continental Casualty Company (CCC), The Continental Insurance Company, Western Surety Company and Continental Assurance Company (CAC). On June 10, 2011, CNA completed the acquisition of CNA Surety Corporation. In July 2012, the Company acquired Hardy Underwriting Bermuda Ltd. On December 14, 2012, the Company sold SUR Insurance Agency, Inc. and The Bond Exchange to California Contractors Insurance Services.
CNA Specialty
CNA Specialty provides professional and management liability and other coverages through property and casualty products and services, both domestically and abroad, through a network of brokers, independent agencies and managing general underwriters. CNA Specialty provides solutions for managing the risks of its clients, including architects, lawyers, accountants, health care professionals, financial intermediaries and public and private companies. Product offerings also include surety and fidelity bonds and warranty services.
CNA Specialty includes four business groups: Professional & Management Liability, International, Surety, and Warranty and Alternative Risks! . Professional & Management Liability provides management and professional liability insurance and risk management services and other specialized property and casualty coverages in the United States. This group provides professional liability coverages to various professional firms, including architects, real estate agents, small and mid-sized accounting firms, law firms and technology firms. Professional & Management Liability also provides D&O, employment practices, fiduciary and fidelity coverages. Products within Professional & Management Liability are distributed through brokers, agents and managing general underwriters. Professional & Management Liability, through CNA HealthPro, also offers insurance products to serve the healthcare delivery system. Products include professional liability and associated standard property and casualty coverages, and are distributed on a national basis through brokers, agents and managing general underwriters. Customer segments include long term care facilities, allied health care providers, life sciences, dental professionals and mid-size and large health care facilities.
International provides similar management and professional liability insurance and other specialized property and casualty coverages in Canada and Europe. Surety consists primarily of CNA Surety Corporation (CNA Surety) and its insurance subsidiaries and offers small, medium and large contract and commercial surety bonds. CNA Surety provides surety and fidelity bonds in all 50 states through a combined network of independent agencies.
Warranty and Alternative Risks provides extended service contracts and related products that provide protection from the financial burden associated with mechanical breakdown and other related losses, primarily for vehicles and portable electronic communication devices. These products are distributed through and administered by a wholly owned subsidiary, CNA National Warranty Corporation, or through third party administrators.
! CNA Comme! rcial
CNA Commercial works with an independent agency distribution system and a network of brokers to market a range of property and casualty insurance products and services to small, middle-market and large businesses and organizations domestically and abroad. Products include standard and excess property coverages, as well as marine coverage, and boiler and machinery. Casualty products include standard casualty insurance products such as workers��compensation, general and product liability, commercial auto and umbrella coverages. It also offers pecialized loss-sensitive insurance programs to those customers viewed as higher risk and less predictable in exposure.
The Business insurance group serves smaller commercial accounts and the Commercial insurance group serves middle markets and larger risks. In addition, CNA Commercial provides total risk management services relating to claim and information services to the insurance marketplace, through a wholly owned subsidiary, CNA ClaimPlus, Inc., a third party administrator. The International insurance group primarily consists of the commercial product lines of its operations in Europe, Canada, as well as Hawaii.
CNA Select Risk (Select Risk) includes excess and surplus lines coverages. Risk provides specialized insurance for selected commercial risks on both an individual customer and program basis. Select Risk�� products are distributed throughout the United States through specialist producers, program agents and brokers.
Life & Group Non-Core
The Life & Group Non-Core segment includes the results of the life and group lines of business that are in run-off. It retains block of group reinsurance and life settlement contracts.
Corporate & Other Non-Core
Corporate & Other Non-Core primarily includes certain corporate expenses. This also includes interest on corporate debt, and the results of certain property and casualty business in run-off, including CNA Re and ! A&EP.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Amanda Alix]
This is the beauty of the insurance model, and its charm has attracted investing greats like Warren Buffett, who may have pioneered this latest trend through his own company, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A ) � (NYSE: BRK-B ) . In 2010, Berkshire took on AIG's asbestos liability for a hefty fee, and did the same for CNA Financial (NYSE: CNA ) the following year. There's little doubt that Buffett added to his wealth by wisely investing the $3.65 billion he received in those two deals.
- [By Lauren Pollock var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach]
Loews Corp.(L) and CNA Financial Corp.(CNA) each posted a decline in first-quarter profit related to the pending sale of an annuity and pension business. Loews, controlled by the Tisch family, owns 90% of CNA, which usually contributes nearly two-thirds of Loews’ top line.
- [By Namitha Jagadeesh]
Centrica Plc (CNA), the biggest energy supplier to U.K. homes, slipped 4.1 percent to 375.6 pence, the biggest drop since May 2010. Ed Miliband, the leader of the Labour Party, yesterday pledged to freeze energy bills if he wins the next general election. He added that rising prices have enriched power companies at the expense of consumers.
Top Shipping Companies For 2014: WhiteWave Foods Co (WWAV)
WWF Operating Company, incorporated on March 14, 1988, is a consumer packaged food and beverage company. The Company manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells plant-based foods and beverages, coffee creamers and beverages, and dairy products throughout North America and Europe. The Company operates in two segments: North America and Europe. The North America segment offers products in the plant-based foods and beverages, coffee creamers and beverages, and dairy product categories throughout North America. Europe segment offers plant-based food and beverage products throughout Europe. The Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dean Foods Company (Dean Foods).
The Company�� brands distributed in North America include Silk plant-based foods and beverages, International Delight and LAND O LAKES coffee creamers and beverages, and Horizon Organic dairy products, while its European brands of plant-based foods and beverages include Alpro and Provamel. The Company sell its products to a variety of customers, including grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, and convenience stores, as well as various away-from-home channels, including restaurants and foodservice outlets, across North America and Europe. The Company sells its products in North America and Europe primarily through its direct sales force and independent brokers. The Company utilizes five manufacturing plants, two distribution centers, and three co-packers across the United States. Additionally, it has four plants across Europe in the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, each supported by an integrated supply chain.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lisa Levin]
The WhiteWave Foods Company (NYSE: WWAV) surged 1.57% to reach a new 52-week high of $31.07. WhiteWave Foods shares have jumped 61.25% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 14.97% in the same period.
Top Shipping Companies For 2014: First Trust Ise Global Engineering And Construction Index Fund (FLM)
First Trust ISE Global Engineering and Construction Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield of an equity index called the ISE Global Engineering and Construction Index (the Index). The Fund is a series of the First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II, an investment company and an exchange-traded index fund. The Index is developed and owned by the International Securities Exchange, LLC (ISE or Index Provider), in consultation with Standard & Poor's, a Division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., which calculates and maintains the Index. The Index specifically targets companies that are engaged in civil and capital projects, such as infrastructure, utilities, transportation, telecommunications, commercial, residential and commerce facilities, and whose roles are within the engineering, designing, planning, consulting, project managing and/or constructing of these projects. First Trust Advisors L.P. is the investment adviser for the Fund. Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Small cap building materials stock NCI Building Systems Inc (NYSE: NCS) fell yesterday after announcing a share offering plus its investors have (so-far) missed out on any ��ecovery��in construction���meaning it might be time to take a closer look at the stock along with potential performance benchmarks like the PowerShares Dynamic Building & Construction ETF (NYSEARCA: PKB) and the First Trust ISE Global Engineering and Construction Index Fund ETF (NYSEARCA: FLM)���both of which have had decent returns in recent years.
- [By John Udovich]
Mid cap infrastructure construction stock Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (NYSE: CBI) fell 7.23% after being trashed in an article by an apparent�short seller posted on Seeking Alpha, meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock along with the performance of potential benchmarks like Jacobs Engineering Group Inc (NYSE: JEC), KBR, Inc (NYSE: KBR) and First Trust ISE Global Engineering and Construction Index Fund ETF (NYSEARCA: FLM).
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