Mutual Fund investments are a great instrument for tax planning which also ensures good returns. In Mutual Funds, a major part is invested in equity and equity-related instruments. Investment up to Rs 1 lakhs is exempted from income under section 80C and dividends received are also tax-free in the hands of the investor. There is no upper limit on investments and long-term capital appreciations are tax free. The only limitations of Mutual Funds are that there is a lock in of three years before which you can not withdraw. But investment should be carefully planned and you should offer sufficient time in selecting the right fund.

There is no income to the investor during the term of the investment. He will get a lump sum amount at the time of redemption or on maturity. Additionally to this, investor gets a dividend from the fund house. There are two options available to the investor:

*      He can cash in the dividends.
*      He can choose for dividend re-investment option.

The most important factor in Mutual Fund investment is the choice of right fund. Check out whether the fund has good performance. Here are some benchmarks to be followed whereas selecting a Mutual Fund for investment. A good track record is no guarantee for future performance. You should also look at some quantitative measures to assess which fund is good for you. Expense Ratio which denotes the annual expenses of the funds, including the management fee, and administrative cost should be lowdown. Superior Sharpe Ratio is better which indicates whether an investment's return is due to smart investing decisions or a result of excess risk. Alpha Ratio which measures risk relative to the market should be optimistic. The mutual fund should have a balance in R-square and ideally it should not be more than 90 and less than 80. Final choice depends upon your risk profile and priorities. You should take an investment decision based on overall financial planning.

Here is a list of top five Mutual Funds for the year 2010.

1.      HDFC Tax saver
2.      Taurus Tax shield
3.      Canara Roboco Tax Saver
4.      Sahara Tax Gain
5.      Reliance Tax Saver

Most of the individuals who receive enough money are generally required to give part of it back to the government, through the usual way of filling out an income tax return. They then send the necessary part of their income to the government. But it is important to know what portion of income is taxable and what is free of taxes, not always easy for individuals to compute on their own.

Also, it is not just individuals who have to pay taxes but also some companies as well as heads of certain households, including Hindu Undivided Families, also known as HUFs. Hindu Undivided Families are made up of many people who are related to each other, often including grandparents, wives, parents, children, single daughters and widows.

This group of people is subject to the HUF tax rate and income tax return. Sometimes a HUF is also known as a joint family and must meet special requirements to qualify. For example, no matter how many relatives live together, there can be only one head of the home.

When it is necessary to fill out an income tax return, filing can be easy. It is especially simple if the tax filing is completed online. E-filing is the most common way to complete tax preparation online.

It is crucial to know what type of IT return is needed when it comes to income tax return filing. They can range from ITR-1 to ITR-8. The number of forms has to do with the source of income, such as income from pension, house, business and investments.

What happens if someone fails to file an income tax return? There can be a number of penalties and they are very undesirable. Tax penalties for those needing to fill out a tax return, filing it and other steps can be up to or more than three times the amount that was not paid.

In other cases, specific penalties must be paid, on top of the taxes already owed.  This is why tax preparation and filing online can quickly help meet IT return requirements. Penalties will rarely happen when going through the e-filing process.

It is very simple to complete the process of e-filing. Most online tax preparation services which use e-filing will automatically figure out the amount of tax owed. Without e-filing, it could be complicated to figure out how much is owed. Users who want to file electronically generally have to log in, create a password and make sure information is secure.

They then enter their income details from the proper form. If there is no additional income, they simply confirm their income and make payment. This is all very simple.

All required forms can be downloaded online when doing through the process of e-filing the income tax return. If an ITR-V form is required, it can be submitted to the Income Tax Department. All details and instructions are there and users can be led through each step by answering a series of simple questions.

If taxes do have to be paid, they can be filed and paid online. What could be easier? It is also very safe and secure. One huge benefit of e-filing is the opportunity to have online support.

Reputable tax preparation services will often ensure the maximum tax refund. When it comes to choosing the right way to file tax returns, online filing is clearly the best option for most taxpayers.

Social Security taxes are typically subtracted from you with every paycheck that you receive from your employer. Most people utilize Social Security for retirement benefits that they can take benefit of when they reach retirement age. Many people are not aware though that part of the Social Security tax can be used in the form of a disability plan. Even if you are not quite at the retirement age yet, there is a clause in the Federal law that allows you to claim some Social Security benefits if you suffer from an injury or any other type of illness or disease that will prevent you from working. These benefits can be used to provide you with an income source in the event that you are not able to work.

Disability is defined by the Social Security Act as the inability to connect in any income generating activity because of a physical or mental condition that can either result in death or will last for a period of not less than 12 months. For many people, the confusion stems from not knowing when they can apply for Social Security benefits and when they can start collecting payments. The fact is that you should apply for disability as soon as possible, even on the first day of your disability if you can handle to do so. The act of processing your claim can take much longer than expected and if you wait too long before doing so, you may miss out on some benefits, as well as run the risk of delaying the process even more. Keep in mind that even with the help of an experienced Social Security lawyer, the claim process can still take a long time. Keep in mind that you will also have to be out of work for at least 5 months before you can begin to receive disability benefits.

The question of why the entire claim process takes so long...often lasting more than a year...is one that comes up frequently. Even enlisting the help of a Social Security lawyer does not necessarily speed upbeat the time to see a judge. Whereas it is understandably quite frustrating to be out of work and at the same time unable to claim any benefits, the enormous backlog of Social Security cases results in this inordinate delay. Since Social Security cases are processed in the order in which they come in, there is modest that you can do but wait. In certain states in fact, the whole process has been known to take anywhere from eighteen months up to two years in order to get a hearing.

Even though a Social Security Disability attorney cannot get you to a hearing before an administrative law judge quicker, a good attorney will win your case before you are even scheduled for a hearing. A Social Security Disability attorney will know what evidence is needed to win your case and know how to take advantage of opportunities to win your claim before the hearing ? ?” as in winning the claim before the Office of Disability Determinations or writing an On the Record opinion for the judge so that she does not even have to conduct the hearing in your case. With or without a social security attorney there are barriers between you and your Social Security Benefits. With a competent lawyer on your side though, the process can be determined much sooner than if you take on the task of filing the claim by yourself.

When Negotiation Approach should be managed?

The situation you are in should form your approach to negotiating. Some situations that will bang your negotiation approach are as follows:

Custom Orders against Mass Production                         
When you place a second order for mass produced goods, you most likely won't be able to negotiate a much superior price than you negotiated for your first order. With custom-made goods, you do have a little leverage. The supplier most likely made 100% of its non-recurring costs into the fee you paid, on the first order. If you end up placing an unplanned second order, the supplier has already earned its non-recurring costs and, thus, your unit price should be lower than it was on your first order.

Goods against Services                                                                    
When buying goods, you can usually take a more determined approach to negotiation. However, with services, negotiating can be a bit trickier, predominantly when you are negotiating with the person who will finally be providing the services such as a consultant, accountant, graphic designer, or similar professional. These individuals lean to take pride in the work they perform and view your attempts at negotiating a better price as a devaluation of their work. They might react by providing services that reveal that "you get what you pay for" instead of giving you their best efforts. So take a firm but political approach when negotiating with service providers. .

Technically Committed against Technically Uncommitted                    

When other people in your organization have worked with a supplier to decide the technical specifications for what they are going away to buy and only one supplier can meet the terms with them, there is little power that you have in negotiation. So, when other people interrelate with potential suppliers, your negotiation power depends not so much on how you communicate with the supplier, but moreso on how you organize your internal team. Everyone responsible for the technical decisions should be advised of these things

1. Your approach is not inevitably designed to choose the lowest cost supplier but rather to ensure the lowest possible cost for the preferred specifications backed up by compliant supplier performance.
2. No one ought to share a supplier or specification selection with suppliers until a purchase order is issued.
3. The less certainty a supplier has about getting the business will interpret into more price flexibility.