Many companies offer a 401(k) retirement program that allows employees to place a portion of their pre-tax income into an investment plan from which they can start withdrawing funds six months before their 60th birthday. The major benefit of a 401(k) is that employers put a matching amount funds into your 401(k). The 401(k) has a greater allowance for savings ($15,000 a year versus the Roth’s $4000).

The Roth 401(k) is a retirement fund that is a hybrid of a traditional 401(k) and a Roth IRA. Like a 401(k), contributions are made with payroll deductions and withdrawals can begin at age 59 and a half. Similar to Roth IRAs, the payroll deductions are part of your taxable income and retirement withdrawals are tax and penalty free (if the account was set up before you turned 54 and a half). Differing from the traditional 401(k), the Roth 401(k) does not receive employer contributions.

The Roth 401(k) can be rolled over into a Roth IRA upon your retirement and no penalties or taxes are assessed. In a similar manner, a traditional 401(k) can be rolled into a traditional IRA, but taxes would need to be paid on it if rolling into a Roth IRA.

Why plan for when you pay your taxes on your current income? Many employees have families and mortgages and enjoy their attendant deductions. By retirement age, your mortgage may be paid off and your children are no longer dependents, which would mean that your tax bracket may be higher. A Roth 401(k) allows you to take advantage of paying your taxes while you are in the lower tax rate. The longer you are invested in a Roth 401(k), the greater the benefit that will be derived from the tax bracket shift.

The overall benefit of the two programs is that you can have your cake and eat it too. If your budget allows, you can invest a portion of your income in a 401(k) fund to take advantage of matching funds and also put a portion of your income into the Roth retirement investment account to take advantage of your current tax bracket.

To find out the specifics, check the SBA website for their eight minute audio video slide show that reviews the various deductions and provisions. The SBA site also has a Word document executive summary to download that includes three links to IRS publications that give further guidance, details and perceived benefits of the Act.

In a nutshell, the Act allows you a much higher amount of equipment you can expense (up to $250,000) and the ability to write of 50% of your purchase in the first year (2008) and then apply your regular first year depreciation to the other 50% your business equipment’s purchase price.

Office equipment, restaurant equipment, machinery for manufacturing businesses are all covered by the Stimulus Act. Since the Act includes various exceptions and additional requirements (it was crafted in Washington) reviewing the benefits of the Act for your particular business with your tax advisor is advisable.

If you are looking to acquire business equipment for you next expansion or to improve productivity, consider US Business Finance Corp’s the alternative financing resources. We have helped many small businesses purchase their business equipment either by the traditional routes or by using future credit card sales to pay for equipment today with a business cash advance. While we help businesses like yours to get the cash you need to succeed in less than two weeks, the government is giving you more advantageous terms in which to write off your equipment purchases this year.

Federal Small Business Help. Many business owners are aware that the Small Business Administration is the guarantor of SBA loans, but many do not know that the SBA website also has articles and forms to help small business owners. The SBA also provides links to your local SBA Certified Development Companies and Small Business Investment Companies.

National Small Business Associations. The benefits of national associations include their lobbying strength in Washington on the behalf of small businesses, industry studies and reports and their timely and informative newsletters alerting business owners of changes in laws and news that affects small businesses.

Two of the biggest that help small businesses and self-employed entrepreneurs are the National Association for Self-Employed (NASE) and the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB). The NASE offers members various life, business and health insurance plans as well as safety manuals and training videos. The NFIB also offers insurance breaks as well as discounts at FedEx and Dell. Both sites offer informative articles on tax, legal, OSHA and DOL matters. The National Small Business Association offers similar benefits with discounts from NEBS, the office supply and forms company and DHL for shipping services.

Chambers of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce is both a way to network with local businesses as well as stay informed on news on the state and local level that affects your business. From the US Chamber of Commerce, with its membership benefits and help with international trade, to your local Chamber of Commerce, which often offers various consulting and training programs as well as marketing opportunities.

Networking with business associations gives small business owners the opportunity to find sales leads, financing sources, such as US Business Finance Corp, and ways others dealt with management challenges. If you are searching for small business financing, call on US Business Finance Corp. Our team of funding specialists can help you through the entire funding process from application to financing and, for larger financing projects such as SBA loans, we can assist in the preparing of your business presentation to maximize your ability to obtain your commercial loan. We can also arrange business cash advances to fill in operating capital needs while you work on your business loans.

Entrepreneurs often have unique products or solutions or have found unique niche markets for their specialties. However, in the running of their day-to-day businesses – from dealing with employees and regulatory bodies to planning cash flow – small business owners share many of the same challenges and can benefit from tried and true solutions.

A strong point of the SBA’s library of tools, is that the reports are based on business experience and, unlike college business courses, you can educate yourself on your own time and find the “course” that you need to pursue when you need it. The SBA website also offers advice on pursuing an SBA loan for your small business.

The SBA also has website links to Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), a non-profit organization sponsored by the SBA of over 12,000 volunteer business counselors, many of whom are retired executives. These volunteers work with companies and provide help free of charge. The SCORE website itself contains many business tools to inform and guide business owners. Many of the SCORE tools help with working with cash flow, talking to lenders and tips on getting a loan. The national website also provides the links to the SCORE offices in your area. Local offices usually have a reference library and software tools available as well.

The SBA has also partnered with state governments, local schools and area businesses to develop Small Business Development Centers. These centers provide business counseling and training to both established businesses as well as entrepreneurs still in the business planning stages. The national site has a tremendous repository of sample business plans from many different types of small businesses.

Small business tools are available on the SBA website and both tools and one-on-one advisory counseling sessions are available at the area offices. Taking advantage of these business tools accelerates your business planning and prepares you for meeting lenders at business financing institutions.