personal finance and budgeting

When I recently discovered that my local bank had finally been added to Mint, I immediately signed back up. MakeUseOf did an overview of Mint back in 2007 when it was in its beta release. Since then, it has grown and added more features so it’s time for an update post.

Mint is a free, automatic online finance tracking and budgeting platform much like Microsoft Money and Quicken. Since adding my financial accounts (Paypal, credit cards, banking), I‘ve stopped using similar software applications on my Mac and iPhone. Mint does all the personal accounting work for me. In this article, I’ll share some tips on using the features of Mint to track and budget your spending.

How to Make a Mint Budget – Setting Up Categories

When you add your financial accounts to your Mint account, about a year’s worth of your past and current transactions get added to your account. Using your past transactions, Mint assigns your transactions to various categories. For example, credit or debit card transactions you make at Target will be assigned the Shopping category. A transaction from Best Buy will get assigned to Electronics & Software. You may find that many of your transactions get assigned appropriate categories, but you can also change or create categories for any transaction.

Here’s how to do it.

• Open your Mint account and click on Transactions in the menu bar at the top of the webpage. Select the transaction for the category you want to change.




• Select the current category for the transaction and click on the triangle in the selection field to either change the name of the category or see if there’s a sub-category. So if say your transaction is from Amazon, you can leave the default category as Shopping or you can assign it a sub-category, such as Books or Clothing.


• Now that you have changed the category, you will probably want all future transactions from say Amazon to all be labeled Books instead of just Shopping. To make this happen, you need to change the rules set up for this type of transaction. Click on the Edit Detail tab.

In the resulting dialog box, select “Always rename Amazon as Amazon and categorize as Books.“ This new rule will change all existing and future Amazon transactions. Notice also, you can assign tags to transactions, which is great for keeping track of tax related expenses as opposed to personal expenses. By clicking “Manage your tags“, you can change, add, and delete tags.

When you first set up your account and add transactions, you may find there are numerous transactions which are uncategorized. Taking the time to set up rules for uncategorized transactions will inevitably help you monitor your spending. Also, one useful tool in this regard is that you can click on the “Show all“ button on the right side of your Transactions page to get a list of the total spending for all transactions for a particular category, sub-category, or store.

Setting Budgets

One of the best reasons for using Mint and taking the trouble to categorize transactions is that you can make Mint budgets, especially for discretionary spending items and services. For example, I like to make sure I’m spending a limited amount of money on books and iPad/iPhone apps per month. If I don’t monitor my spending on such items, I tend to overspend and even sometimes waste money by not tracking those expenses.

Again, when you set up your Mint account, Mint creates a few default budgets which you can change or create new ones. To do this, click on Planning in the menu bar of your account’s page. Select the budget you want to change or update. Or click the Create Budget button to create a new budget.

For an existing budget, you can increase or decrease the amount by clicking on the left and right triangles. You can make additional changes by clicking the Edit Details tab, in which you can change the time period of the budget, and check whether or not you want the selected budget to roll over to the next month. As you spend money toward those budgets, the bar color will change from green to red when you are over your budget.

Almost everything about Mint is automatic. So once your transactions are updated for your accounts, all your categories and budgets get automatically updated. You never have to manually input that data.

Setting Up Email Alerts

Another useful Mint feature which helps you monitor your finances is by sending you email alerts for when you’ve gone over budget, when your balance is low, when a bill is due, and so on. You can configure the settings for alerts by clicking on Your Profile on your accounts page. In the drop-down box, select Email and Alerts to set up changes.

Get the Free Mint iPhone App

If you‘re an Apple mobile user, you can download the free Mint app to view your online account. Transactions, however, may not immediately show up on your Mint account. It may take an hour or two to get updated. But using the mobile app also allows you to add tags and/or change categories for new transactions. Your new alerts also show up in the app.

There are many more features in Mint, and once you get your accounts set up, you’ll see that it provides you with a wealth of information about your finances, as well giving you tips on how to save money.

Mint.com may not be the best solution for say tracking a large business account, but for personal and small business accounts, the service is a huge time saver. The biggest drawback to the service, however, is that it doesn’t provide a way to print out reports of your transactions, categories, and summaries. You have to download the data and then set up a spreadsheet to create reports. Hopefully the developers of Mint will address this problem in future updates.

Let us know if and how you use Mint.com. Has it helped you budget your spending?

When I recently discovered that my local bank had finally been added to Mint, I immediately signed back up. MakeUseOf did an overview of Mint back in 2007 when it was in its beta release. Since then, it has grown and added more features so it’s time for an update post.

Mint is a free, automatic online finance tracking and budgeting platform much like Microsoft Money and Quicken. Since adding my financial accounts (Paypal, credit cards, banking), I‘ve stopped using similar software applications on my Mac and iPhone. Mint does all the personal accounting work for me. In this article, I’ll share some tips on using the features of Mint to track and budget your spending.

How to Make a Mint Budget – Setting Up Categories

When you add your financial accounts to your Mint account, about a year’s worth of your past and current transactions get added to your account. Using your past transactions, Mint assigns your transactions to various categories. For example, credit or debit card transactions you make at Target will be assigned the Shopping category. A transaction from Best Buy will get assigned to Electronics & Software. You may find that many of your transactions get assigned appropriate categories, but you can also change or create categories for any transaction.

Here’s how to do it.

• Open your Mint account and click on Transactions in the menu bar at the top of the webpage. Select the transaction for the category you want to change.




• Select the current category for the transaction and click on the triangle in the selection field to either change the name of the category or see if there’s a sub-category. So if say your transaction is from Amazon, you can leave the default category as Shopping or you can assign it a sub-category, such as Books or Clothing.


• Now that you have changed the category, you will probably want all future transactions from say Amazon to all be labeled Books instead of just Shopping. To make this happen, you need to change the rules set up for this type of transaction. Click on the Edit Detail tab.

In the resulting dialog box, select “Always rename Amazon as Amazon and categorize as Books.“ This new rule will change all existing and future Amazon transactions. Notice also, you can assign tags to transactions, which is great for keeping track of tax related expenses as opposed to personal expenses. By clicking “Manage your tags“, you can change, add, and delete tags.

When you first set up your account and add transactions, you may find there are numerous transactions which are uncategorized. Taking the time to set up rules for uncategorized transactions will inevitably help you monitor your spending. Also, one useful tool in this regard is that you can click on the “Show all“ button on the right side of your Transactions page to get a list of the total spending for all transactions for a particular category, sub-category, or store.

Setting Budgets

One of the best reasons for using Mint and taking the trouble to categorize transactions is that you can make Mint budgets, especially for discretionary spending items and services. For example, I like to make sure I’m spending a limited amount of money on books and iPad/iPhone apps per month. If I don’t monitor my spending on such items, I tend to overspend and even sometimes waste money by not tracking those expenses.

Again, when you set up your Mint account, Mint creates a few default budgets which you can change or create new ones. To do this, click on Planning in the menu bar of your account’s page. Select the budget you want to change or update. Or click the Create Budget button to create a new budget.

For an existing budget, you can increase or decrease the amount by clicking on the left and right triangles. You can make additional changes by clicking the Edit Details tab, in which you can change the time period of the budget, and check whether or not you want the selected budget to roll over to the next month. As you spend money toward those budgets, the bar color will change from green to red when you are over your budget.

Almost everything about Mint is automatic. So once your transactions are updated for your accounts, all your categories and budgets get automatically updated. You never have to manually input that data.

Setting Up Email Alerts

Another useful Mint feature which helps you monitor your finances is by sending you email alerts for when you’ve gone over budget, when your balance is low, when a bill is due, and so on. You can configure the settings for alerts by clicking on Your Profile on your accounts page. In the drop-down box, select Email and Alerts to set up changes.

Get the Free Mint iPhone App

If you‘re an Apple mobile user, you can download the free Mint app to view your online account. Transactions, however, may not immediately show up on your Mint account. It may take an hour or two to get updated. But using the mobile app also allows you to add tags and/or change categories for new transactions. Your new alerts also show up in the app.

There are many more features in Mint, and once you get your accounts set up, you’ll see that it provides you with a wealth of information about your finances, as well giving you tips on how to save money.

Mint.com may not be the best solution for say tracking a large business account, but for personal and small business accounts, the service is a huge time saver. The biggest drawback to the service, however, is that it doesn’t provide a way to print out reports of your transactions, categories, and summaries. You have to download the data and then set up a spreadsheet to create reports. Hopefully the developers of Mint will address this problem in future updates.

Let us know if and how you use Mint.com. Has it helped you budget your spending?

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Another year, another debt-filled holiday season passed, another New Year's resolution to control spending. Sound familiar? Are you ready to take control of your financial planning? If so, personal finance budgeting is key. There is hope, and it is easier than you might think.

We must begin by getting back to the basics. In a society filled with credit cards and not a whole lot of personal responsibility, money slips away faster than we can dream up ways to make it. The first step to taking control is to STOP IT! Stop the cycle. Stop charging things you have to "figure out" how to pay. Stop imagining that your needs and wants are on equal footing. If you find yourself in this cycle, it truly is time to revaluate. Your own personal finance budgeting course starts right now.

Ready for the first step? Before you can hope to improve your personal finance budgeting skills, you need to do a little planning. First, put your credit cards away. You will not be using them any longer. I know there is something to be said for using credit cards that reward you, however, if you need to gain control over your finances, now is not a good time to be utilizing that benifit. For the purposes of this budget, you will be using cash. You need to regain a realization of how quickly money leaves your wallet and what kind of things you are spending it on. You may have to limp your way to your next paycheck, but in the process you will begin to understand what is happening in your personal finances.

It is time to face reality. Sit down with all of your bills. You need to add up every single dime you have an obligation to spend every month. Divide by the number of paychecks you have each month. This figure represents the amount of money you need to leave in the bank when you receive each check. Now, subtract this amount of money from your check total. The sum is the amount of money you have to spend. If you are more of a visual person the formula will look like this.

Total amount of bills per month / number of paychecks per month= Sum A (amount you need to set aside each paycheck for bills.

Total amount each paycheck- Sum A= Sum B (spendable cash.)

Once you have set the ground work, you can begin step two. At this point you need to realistically set up a budget. If your budget does not provide the amount of money you need to subsist on, this article will not help you until it can. Personal financial planning must start with a personal workable budget. Help yourself by getting one in place and then move onto step three.

Payday (yeah! It's OK, you can cheer!) Drive straight to the bank and withdraw your "spendable cash" (Sum B). Look at all the cash you have and prepare for the shock of a lifetime. You will be stunned how quickly the money will slip away!

Now that you have had all that fun oohing and aahing over all our cash, we must get back to work with step four. You now need to set up your envelopes. Simple white envelopes are the basis of getting finances under control (are you shocked?) To begin, you must retrieve your budget. Now, begin labeling envelopes. The envelopes represent different sections of your budget and can be whatever you want them to be. However, general guidelines do apply. An effective personal finance budget relies on categories such as food, miscellaneous household items, gas, entertainment and medical expenditures. If these categories don't all work for you, tweak the system until your envelopes match your lifestyle spending habits. From your budget, determine how much money belongs in each and divide your cash into each envelope.

Step five bring about the difficult part of your budget. You may only spend from your envelopes. When you get gas, take money out of the gas envelope. When you need groceries, take money out of the grocery envelope. When you want to eat out, money only comes from the entertainment envelope. I said this step was going to be hard. It becomes difficult when you realize that if the proper amount of money isn't available in entertainment, you can't eat out. This is where many budgets fall away, but revamping your life is going to take some self control and hard work.

It is time to Begin the final step (yeah! Go ahead, you can cheer again!) you need to set up one more envelope. This is the "overspent" envelope. Realistically, in today's world you may have to charge an item at some point. You may have forgotten your cash or are purchasing from a business that only excepts credit cards for payment. When this happens, you MUST remove money from the appropriate envelope and put in your "overspent" envelope. Do nothing with the money in this envelope except forget about it! The money is gone. When the credit card bill arrives, deposit the money back into the bank so you can pay the bill. When you hold fast to this one step you will eliminate any credit card problems you have had. And, let's be honest, won't that be wonderful?

Learning this very effective method of personal finance budgeting may seem a little overwhelming at first, but stick with it. You will be amazed as your own personal responsibility and determination grows as you realize where your money is actually being spent. The hard work will pay off and your newfound financial freedom will be more than a little pleasant in the coming year.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 6/21 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning boys and girls. An early edition of Arrowheadlines today so I can hit the road (pretty much the case all week). Here's today's Kansas City Chiefs news (tweet-free). Enjoy!

Ellen Crashes <b>News</b> | NBC Chicago | Ellen DeGeneres | Mediaite

In the middle of broadcasting the daily news brief, a local Chicago news team was pleasantly interrupted by Ellen DeGeneres, who showed up unexpectedly to take command of the newscast, cheer up the place and hand out all sorts of ...

Chinese Currency <b>News</b> Lifts Asian Stocks - DealBook Blog - NYTimes.com

China's weekend announcement of more flexibility for the renminbi triggered an across-the-board rally in Asian stock markets Monday as investors welcomed the political and economic implications of the announcement.

Subway Franchise

Fast Food Review: The Mac Snack Wrap, Big Mac in a Tortilla

Posted by John M. Edwards, February 19, 2010 at 10:30 AM

Editor's note: Please welcome longtime Serious Eats reader and occasional fast food fan John M. Edwards—no known relation to the recent Enquirer star.

Ah, the magic of food styling. [Photograph: mcdonalds.com]

"You went to McDonald's for lunch?" my coworker asked incredulously—in that tone of voice people normally reserve for smokers. ("But you're an athlete!" "I never figured you would smoke!") In my defense, it's not as if I have a daily Big Mac habit. But I have a soft spot in my heart for those golden arches. So when A Hamburger Today asked me to review the Mac Snack Wrap, I jumped at the chance.

Why I'm the right man to do it? I love fast food, and thus can evaluate its merits. McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's: I'm there. That's not to say I can't be a discerning eater; years living in France and Italy left me with an appreciation for the finer things in life. I can taste the difference between American prosciutto and its Italian counterpart; I'm more than comfortable with a menu of escargot and terrine de campagne—when it suits me. All that aside, other sorts of delicacies—like, say, the McRib—are a different sort of pleasure. That's right, folks: I went to McDonald's, and I loved it.

I looked forward to it all week, as I planned my lunch hour around a trip to the franchise near my office, in Wakefield, Massachusetts. I fully anticipated the stares that might come from the denizens of Senator Scott Brown's hometown, as I ate a Big Mac with a camera in my hand. Hell, he might even drive by in his truck and get an apple pie. (Half-naked.)

The Order

My first problem? Terminology. Lest you get confused by the Mcs and the Macs and the Snacks: the new Mac Snack Wrap is essentially a Big Mac in a tortilla. The Snack Wrap, on the other hand, is a choice of grilled chicken or crispy chicken, lettuce, cheese and sauce on—wait for it—a tortilla.

I ordered a #1, a Big Mac with fries and a drink—to quell my hunger and get my palate in fast-food mode. Consider it the control of this Mc-speriment. That would warm me up for the Mac Snack Wrap. (Initially, I ordered a McSnackWrap. The young woman behind the counter instructed me to revisit my terminology. The McMenu is tricky.)

I also tried a Grilled Chicken Snack Wrap with Honey Mustard, and one Crispy Chicken Snack Wrap with Chipotle Barbecue Sauce.

The Mac Snack Wrap

[Photographs: Robyn Lee]

Being a Big Mac sympathizer, I tried hard not to get my hopes up high—I wanted a fair and balanced review. But when I tried the Snack Wrap after half my #1, I wasn't that impressed. The Mac Snack Wrap was by far my least favorite of the wraps. The meat is just a burger patty awkwardly cut in two; the lettuce is the same, as are the square of cheese and special sauce. But without the bun, the Big Mac loses its character. Wrapped in a bland tortilla, it just doesn't have the same consistency, heft, or taste. Nor do you have the sesame seeds hitting your tongue (if you eat yours upside down, like I do).

The Other Snack Wraps

What about the other snack wraps, which have been on most McD's menus for awhile now? The Grilled Chicken was by far my favorite meat. I expected the interior of a McNugget pressed into chicken breast shape (would that be a McBreast?). But the meat here looked far more like, well, chicken—it reminded me of the meat you get in the Subway Roasted Chicken Sub. We're not talking organic fall-off-the-bone spit-roasted chicken here, but for $1.49, it ain't bad. The honey mustard, though, was way too sweet—what was probably high fructose corn syrup overpowering an otherwise good mustardy taste.

Finally, the Crispy Chicken with Chipotle. Again, I expected just a long McNugget doused in the old BBQ sauce—but, much to my surprise, it's actually a breaded and crispy strip of all-white-meat chicken. It felt like a Popeye's chicken strip, or a TGI Friday's tender. On top of that, the chipotle sauce had a little bit of kick to it, not just the smoke flavor and sugar of the regular sauce.

The Verdict

Overall, I was more impressed by the original Snack Wraps than the new Mac—and this, from a Big Mac fan. There were some negatives: the shredded cheese was cold, unmelted, and looked like it had a bit of fuzz; the tortilla is really tasteless, more of a delivery vehicle than anything else. But for $1.49, the chicken ones, at least, are small and reasonably tasty items at a great price. It's also a lighter choice—Crispy Chicken and Mac Snack Wraps are 330 calories per serving, with the Grilled Chicken at 260. That's significantly better than the 540 calories of the Big Mac (210 of which come from the bun), at less than half the price.

At the end of the day, it's still fast food. But as Food Inc. showed in the case of Wal-Mart, which has started carrying Stonyfield organic yogurt, retailers and restaurants give people what they want. It's not perfect, but I think the chicken Snack Wrap is a step in the right direction. I could see them grilled on a panini press, for example, to make them warmer and crisper, and to melt the cheese.

For many of us, the appeal of McDonald's is nostalgia. (Like that time when I was seven years old and a friend of mine dropped his pants and peed in a McD's ball pit.) A few years later, I remember ordering the twenty-piece McNugget with 4 BBQ sauces, and thinking that meal was heaven. Granted, I was eleven at the time, and my knees were wider than my thighs. Twenty chicken nuggets is no longer my lunch of choice. But from that perspective, it's nice to see McDonald's toning things down. 260 calories for a grilled chicken wrap? That's not much more than the Kashi Granola bar I just inhaled writing this article. Fast food fans could do a lot worse.

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Tags: Big Mac, Mac Snack Wrap, McDonald's, Reality Check, chain restaurants, fast food, recommended

Some lawyers love what they do. Those who don’t are vocal about how much they hate their jobs. So what would the naysayers prefer to be doing professionally? Above the Law editors have heard these “dream careers” tossed around: government intelligence analyst, writer/journalist, banker (so they can keep making the bank), and — for those who want to stay in the law, but not Biglaw — assistant U.S. attorney, judge, or law school professor.

Some people are content to stay in the law but need a creative/fun outlet. It’s an added bonus if that outlet also makes money. One such endeavor is to open a restaurant. (The belief that most restaurants fail in the first year is a myth, after all.)

We’ve written before about lawyer-turned-Subway entrepreneur Larry Feldman. But being king of a sandwich-shop franchise is not really the glamorous side of food service. The daydream version involves starting up a place with a bit more character.

For some, being laid off has been a push to tap into a culinary side. Here in New York, a first-year associate caught up in law firm layoffs used the opportunity to open a Taiwanese steamed bun cafe in the Lower East Side, called Baohaus.

Further south, in Washington, D.C., another casualty of the recession layoffs got into the eat-out business. Julie Liu, a former Katten Muchin associate, launched a restaurant in Dupont Circle last year named Scion. She was very thankful to Katten for her three-month severance: it “basically paid for Scion’s kitchen equipment.”

We caught up with Liu about opening a restaurant with her sister, and got some advice for other wannabe restaurateurs.

Liu is a Northwestern law grad and former Teach for America teacher. She spent almost two years in Katten’s Chicago office. After being laid off last year, she moved to D.C. and opened the restaurant with her sister in June 2009. Liu originally planned to return to Biglaw but wound up landing a job at the Department of Education, so now she’s in D.C. (and the restaurant biz) for good.

ATL: How would you describe Scion?

We are a family-owned, neighborhood restaurant that serves great food and drinks. We aim to be affordable so that both my Teach for America friends and my Biglaw friends can enjoy a good meal at Scion. Our menu ranges from a diverse selection of appetizers to $9 burgers/paninis to $25 Buffalo Osso Bucco. We have the same goals for our cocktails and beers. There are fancy options and affordable options.

The long-term goal is to be a place where people want to come back over and over again because of the delicious food and great drinks and don’t feel like it would break the bank.

ATL: You’re working at the Department of Education and running the restaurant? How do you balance the two?

Resilience; and being ok with the fact that I’m pretty much tired all the time.

Actually, Joanne (my sister) is basically a machine, so essentially my role is to cover her on certain nights and weekends so that she can get some sleep or attempt to have a life. Joanne went all in for Scion Restaurant. She gave up her previous career completely and handles the bulk of the work and stress that comes with opening a new restaurant. She’s a CPA, so she handles all of the business and finance issues. She also is a total foodie and follows the food and wine industries very closely, so she works with the chef to create the menu and works with the bar manager on the beers and cocktails…

Joanne and I grew up in a restaurant family, which established our lack of need for sleep and ridiculous work ethic. I initially applied it towards academics (UVA then Northwestern Law) and then towards my initial careers (Teach for America and Biglaw at Katten Chicago). Now, I apply it towards Scion Restaurant, and words cannot describe how much more rewarding, motivating and fulfilling it is to see your efforts go towards your own small business. And to do it all with my sister by my side (and my parents very involved) has been an incredible experience.

When I first moved to D.C., I was offered a Biglaw job, a mid-size firm job (approx. 50 attorneys), and a job at ED (Department of Education). After less than 2 years in Biglaw, I was torn about leaving so soon, but that was mostly motivated by the fact that I still owe $175K in student loans to NU Law and not because I wanted to be a Biglaw attorney. What I realized is that if I could find a legal job that still allowed me to work on Scion Restaurant, it’d be an ideal situation. ED was the perfect solution, and I started chasing the elusive work/life balance and the myth I’ve heard that you can love what you do.

ATL: How’s running a business with your sister?

Joanne is really the brains and heart behind this entire project. She has an intense passion for the restaurant industry and often kids that I’m just her junior associate. We are each other’s #1 fan, but also each other’s toughest critic. We never hesitate to speak our minds and don’t hold back on our verbal spats. Growing up in a restaurant family helped because we learned that during intense moments, things get heated, but at the end of service, you have to let it go. We are constantly communicating (and not always kindly) and never hold grudges or go to bed without settling an issue. Sure, we can annoy each other, but we both agree that there is no one else we’d want to be in the trenches with for Scion Restaurant.

ATL: What’s your favorite part about it?

My favorite part is definitely meeting the customers. Biglaw was not the environment for me. After teaching in the inner city and going to a very social law school, suddenly I was thrown into a situation where I felt very isolated. I completed assignments for hours on end sitting in an office that became very lonely. Yes, I got client interaction, but that’s never the same as getting to know people on a personal level. I felt my personality starting to shrivel away and my usual social outlets had to be sacrificed for the Biglaw hours. As every Biglaw associate knows, we’re anxious when we’re not busy billing hours and we’re exhausted when we are billing hours. A work/life balance or happy medium was impossible. In Biglaw, I began to lose a bit of my enthusiasm and spirit. I’m an extrovert and get much of my energy from interacting with other people. I missed that a lot and it’s a wonderful feeling to have it back.

ATL: Does the legal background help?

The legal background is a huge asset. My major role is to review restaurant contracts and documents and apply for licensing and certifications. My legal training makes it easy to figure out all the steps in the process and most importantly, allows me to complete all the necessary tasks without feeling overwhelmed with all the details. We also have hired legal counsel who has extensive experience in the restaurant industry, but he bills minimal hours and simply points me in the right direction. From there, I can handle the drafting and filing for most of our paperwork.

On a social level, the legal background also helps because people love discussing my Biglaw experience and how I balance a day job along with Scion. It’s a great topic of conversation when I’m working the floor of the restaurant. It also helps when I’m tapping into the Northwestern Law alumni network to set up happy hours, summer associate lunches and firm social events.

ATL: Any tips for lawyers who want to open their own restaurant?

This is a tough question to answer because so much of what we’ve learned about the restaurant industry has come from growing up in our parents’ restaurant. Opening a restaurant is definitely an experience where you’re learning something new every day. In the past six months, I’ve learned more about kitchen equipment, linen pricing and the various kinds of mixed greens than I could have ever hoped to learn.

My first tip is that anyone who wants to open a restaurant must be committed for the long haul and know that there will be a lot of sacrifice in your social life and finances before you’re “living the dream.” Joanne likes to kid that many of her friends are having babies and she decided to give birth to a restaurant. She loses about the same amount of sleep, if not more, and is stuck with it through the good times and bad. Of course, we hope Scion will be profitable sooner than a child would be, but we still have to love it unconditionally while it hasn’t yet given back to us.

My second tip is that as with anything I do in life, you have to have a sense of humor. There’s just nothing you can do when someone sends a dish back because their dog won’t like the leftovers, pukes in your flowers, or bashes you on yelp.com because your cheesecake didn’t taste like what their Mom used to make. Not every dish will come out perfectly and not every customer will love us. We give 110% and want everyone to leave happy, but when things go wrong, you can only laugh about it, support each other and trust that tomorrow is another day.

My final tip is to be flexible. The restaurant industry is unpredictable. You have to be willing to adapt to whatever is thrown at you and survive. We can never tell whether a week will be busy or slow, yet we still have to prepare the right amount of inventory and staff for every shift. I love meetings and agendas and plans of action, but the reality is that everything will not always go according to schedule in a restaurant. Preparation is essential in running a restaurant, but the key to success is being good under pressure and knowing how to handle things when everything goes wrong.

Earlier: Career Alternatives for Attorneys: Entrepreneur / Small (or Not So Small) Business Owner

Every year, you can expect lists to come out about everything. This year's top 10 lists include some of the most enlightening revelations about business and the direction business is going. In a recent report, fast food, janitorial services and delivery services seem to be the peak of 2006. How does Rivky's Art Workshop stand up to those?

When you are looking at franchise opportunities, you have to take yourself into account. A major mistake among most new entrepreneurs is the notion that business must be done the way it always has been done. What about your time with your family? What about building your client base into long term, repeat customers who are more like friends than patrons? What about running a business out of your own home?

There are trends in the business world and I have a hunch that most of these new trends were started by individuals who never spent one day in a business class. Otherwise, opening up at the break of dawn and closing way after dusk would be their idea of a business. Having customers stampede in like a heard of cattle, buy their products and leave in business like fashion would be their dream come true. Leasing or buying a building and packing it with inventory would be their business model.

Subway seems to top the list in just about every category. Lists include Top 10 of 2006, Best of the Best, and Fastest Growing among others. Subway opens early in the morning, closes long after dinner and requires a constant inventory. For a customer, it's great. For an entrepreneur, it's a nightmare. You have to have employees who know what they are doing and don't make too many mistakes on a daily basis. You need a constant supply of inventory. And the long hours you'll be keeping will make your family life virtually non-existent.

Most franchise opportunities work this way. But even if they don't, there are other factors involved. A janitorial service is the type of business that you can run pretty much at your own hours. If you are cleaning people's homes, you can set the time that you'll be there. Make it any time throughout the day that is good for you. But, there's not much chance for multiplication. You can only do one home at a time. And if you're doing office buildings, you might be working late into the evening because you won't be able to clean during office hours.

There is always so much to think about when you are searching for the perfect franchise opportunity. That's why Rivky's Art Workshops are really more ideal than any other. You set the times that you are going to be holding your workshops. So, you can have a family life and run your workshops too. You don't need much inventory. Art supplies are fairly cheap and students can be expected to buy their own, unless you want to give them art supplies as a bonus. You get to know your customers by their name and soon you know so much more about them than that. You can build repeat business and word-of-mouth business through your client base who has actually turned out to be more like a family than merely customers.

The most awesome part about running an art workshop is the multiplicity factor. You can have several students in one class. A class can last for 45 minutes to an hour and a half depending on you. So, you have multiplied your earning potential from an hourly wage to your fee times the number of students you accept in one class. The math is phenomenal. Run a few classes a week and you are making more than the pour soul working his fingers to the bone to keep his Subway open.

There are many other factors that make Rivky's Art Workshop the most ideal franchise opportunity. But if you think about the ones listed here, you're already interested. You have time to do other things. You have a client base that grows by the day through word of mouth. You have loyal repeat business. Work anywhere you desire. Running art workshops in your home isn't at all too difficult. Rivky's Art Workshops meet today's business trends with absolute perfect conclusion.

Fast Food Review: The Mac Snack Wrap, Big Mac in a Tortilla

Posted by John M. Edwards, February 19, 2010 at 10:30 AM

Editor's note: Please welcome longtime Serious Eats reader and occasional fast food fan John M. Edwards—no known relation to the recent Enquirer star.

Ah, the magic of food styling. [Photograph: mcdonalds.com]

"You went to McDonald's for lunch?" my coworker asked incredulously—in that tone of voice people normally reserve for smokers. ("But you're an athlete!" "I never figured you would smoke!") In my defense, it's not as if I have a daily Big Mac habit. But I have a soft spot in my heart for those golden arches. So when A Hamburger Today asked me to review the Mac Snack Wrap, I jumped at the chance.

Why I'm the right man to do it? I love fast food, and thus can evaluate its merits. McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's: I'm there. That's not to say I can't be a discerning eater; years living in France and Italy left me with an appreciation for the finer things in life. I can taste the difference between American prosciutto and its Italian counterpart; I'm more than comfortable with a menu of escargot and terrine de campagne—when it suits me. All that aside, other sorts of delicacies—like, say, the McRib—are a different sort of pleasure. That's right, folks: I went to McDonald's, and I loved it.

I looked forward to it all week, as I planned my lunch hour around a trip to the franchise near my office, in Wakefield, Massachusetts. I fully anticipated the stares that might come from the denizens of Senator Scott Brown's hometown, as I ate a Big Mac with a camera in my hand. Hell, he might even drive by in his truck and get an apple pie. (Half-naked.)

The Order

My first problem? Terminology. Lest you get confused by the Mcs and the Macs and the Snacks: the new Mac Snack Wrap is essentially a Big Mac in a tortilla. The Snack Wrap, on the other hand, is a choice of grilled chicken or crispy chicken, lettuce, cheese and sauce on—wait for it—a tortilla.

I ordered a #1, a Big Mac with fries and a drink—to quell my hunger and get my palate in fast-food mode. Consider it the control of this Mc-speriment. That would warm me up for the Mac Snack Wrap. (Initially, I ordered a McSnackWrap. The young woman behind the counter instructed me to revisit my terminology. The McMenu is tricky.)

I also tried a Grilled Chicken Snack Wrap with Honey Mustard, and one Crispy Chicken Snack Wrap with Chipotle Barbecue Sauce.

The Mac Snack Wrap

[Photographs: Robyn Lee]

Being a Big Mac sympathizer, I tried hard not to get my hopes up high—I wanted a fair and balanced review. But when I tried the Snack Wrap after half my #1, I wasn't that impressed. The Mac Snack Wrap was by far my least favorite of the wraps. The meat is just a burger patty awkwardly cut in two; the lettuce is the same, as are the square of cheese and special sauce. But without the bun, the Big Mac loses its character. Wrapped in a bland tortilla, it just doesn't have the same consistency, heft, or taste. Nor do you have the sesame seeds hitting your tongue (if you eat yours upside down, like I do).

The Other Snack Wraps

What about the other snack wraps, which have been on most McD's menus for awhile now? The Grilled Chicken was by far my favorite meat. I expected the interior of a McNugget pressed into chicken breast shape (would that be a McBreast?). But the meat here looked far more like, well, chicken—it reminded me of the meat you get in the Subway Roasted Chicken Sub. We're not talking organic fall-off-the-bone spit-roasted chicken here, but for $1.49, it ain't bad. The honey mustard, though, was way too sweet—what was probably high fructose corn syrup overpowering an otherwise good mustardy taste.

Finally, the Crispy Chicken with Chipotle. Again, I expected just a long McNugget doused in the old BBQ sauce—but, much to my surprise, it's actually a breaded and crispy strip of all-white-meat chicken. It felt like a Popeye's chicken strip, or a TGI Friday's tender. On top of that, the chipotle sauce had a little bit of kick to it, not just the smoke flavor and sugar of the regular sauce.

The Verdict

Overall, I was more impressed by the original Snack Wraps than the new Mac—and this, from a Big Mac fan. There were some negatives: the shredded cheese was cold, unmelted, and looked like it had a bit of fuzz; the tortilla is really tasteless, more of a delivery vehicle than anything else. But for $1.49, the chicken ones, at least, are small and reasonably tasty items at a great price. It's also a lighter choice—Crispy Chicken and Mac Snack Wraps are 330 calories per serving, with the Grilled Chicken at 260. That's significantly better than the 540 calories of the Big Mac (210 of which come from the bun), at less than half the price.

At the end of the day, it's still fast food. But as Food Inc. showed in the case of Wal-Mart, which has started carrying Stonyfield organic yogurt, retailers and restaurants give people what they want. It's not perfect, but I think the chicken Snack Wrap is a step in the right direction. I could see them grilled on a panini press, for example, to make them warmer and crisper, and to melt the cheese.

For many of us, the appeal of McDonald's is nostalgia. (Like that time when I was seven years old and a friend of mine dropped his pants and peed in a McD's ball pit.) A few years later, I remember ordering the twenty-piece McNugget with 4 BBQ sauces, and thinking that meal was heaven. Granted, I was eleven at the time, and my knees were wider than my thighs. Twenty chicken nuggets is no longer my lunch of choice. But from that perspective, it's nice to see McDonald's toning things down. 260 calories for a grilled chicken wrap? That's not much more than the Kashi Granola bar I just inhaled writing this article. Fast food fans could do a lot worse.

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Tags: Big Mac, Mac Snack Wrap, McDonald's, Reality Check, chain restaurants, fast food, recommended

Some lawyers love what they do. Those who don’t are vocal about how much they hate their jobs. So what would the naysayers prefer to be doing professionally? Above the Law editors have heard these “dream careers” tossed around: government intelligence analyst, writer/journalist, banker (so they can keep making the bank), and — for those who want to stay in the law, but not Biglaw — assistant U.S. attorney, judge, or law school professor.

Some people are content to stay in the law but need a creative/fun outlet. It’s an added bonus if that outlet also makes money. One such endeavor is to open a restaurant. (The belief that most restaurants fail in the first year is a myth, after all.)

We’ve written before about lawyer-turned-Subway entrepreneur Larry Feldman. But being king of a sandwich-shop franchise is not really the glamorous side of food service. The daydream version involves starting up a place with a bit more character.

For some, being laid off has been a push to tap into a culinary side. Here in New York, a first-year associate caught up in law firm layoffs used the opportunity to open a Taiwanese steamed bun cafe in the Lower East Side, called Baohaus.

Further south, in Washington, D.C., another casualty of the recession layoffs got into the eat-out business. Julie Liu, a former Katten Muchin associate, launched a restaurant in Dupont Circle last year named Scion. She was very thankful to Katten for her three-month severance: it “basically paid for Scion’s kitchen equipment.”

We caught up with Liu about opening a restaurant with her sister, and got some advice for other wannabe restaurateurs.

Liu is a Northwestern law grad and former Teach for America teacher. She spent almost two years in Katten’s Chicago office. After being laid off last year, she moved to D.C. and opened the restaurant with her sister in June 2009. Liu originally planned to return to Biglaw but wound up landing a job at the Department of Education, so now she’s in D.C. (and the restaurant biz) for good.

ATL: How would you describe Scion?

We are a family-owned, neighborhood restaurant that serves great food and drinks. We aim to be affordable so that both my Teach for America friends and my Biglaw friends can enjoy a good meal at Scion. Our menu ranges from a diverse selection of appetizers to $9 burgers/paninis to $25 Buffalo Osso Bucco. We have the same goals for our cocktails and beers. There are fancy options and affordable options.

The long-term goal is to be a place where people want to come back over and over again because of the delicious food and great drinks and don’t feel like it would break the bank.

ATL: You’re working at the Department of Education and running the restaurant? How do you balance the two?

Resilience; and being ok with the fact that I’m pretty much tired all the time.

Actually, Joanne (my sister) is basically a machine, so essentially my role is to cover her on certain nights and weekends so that she can get some sleep or attempt to have a life. Joanne went all in for Scion Restaurant. She gave up her previous career completely and handles the bulk of the work and stress that comes with opening a new restaurant. She’s a CPA, so she handles all of the business and finance issues. She also is a total foodie and follows the food and wine industries very closely, so she works with the chef to create the menu and works with the bar manager on the beers and cocktails…

Joanne and I grew up in a restaurant family, which established our lack of need for sleep and ridiculous work ethic. I initially applied it towards academics (UVA then Northwestern Law) and then towards my initial careers (Teach for America and Biglaw at Katten Chicago). Now, I apply it towards Scion Restaurant, and words cannot describe how much more rewarding, motivating and fulfilling it is to see your efforts go towards your own small business. And to do it all with my sister by my side (and my parents very involved) has been an incredible experience.

When I first moved to D.C., I was offered a Biglaw job, a mid-size firm job (approx. 50 attorneys), and a job at ED (Department of Education). After less than 2 years in Biglaw, I was torn about leaving so soon, but that was mostly motivated by the fact that I still owe $175K in student loans to NU Law and not because I wanted to be a Biglaw attorney. What I realized is that if I could find a legal job that still allowed me to work on Scion Restaurant, it’d be an ideal situation. ED was the perfect solution, and I started chasing the elusive work/life balance and the myth I’ve heard that you can love what you do.

ATL: How’s running a business with your sister?

Joanne is really the brains and heart behind this entire project. She has an intense passion for the restaurant industry and often kids that I’m just her junior associate. We are each other’s #1 fan, but also each other’s toughest critic. We never hesitate to speak our minds and don’t hold back on our verbal spats. Growing up in a restaurant family helped because we learned that during intense moments, things get heated, but at the end of service, you have to let it go. We are constantly communicating (and not always kindly) and never hold grudges or go to bed without settling an issue. Sure, we can annoy each other, but we both agree that there is no one else we’d want to be in the trenches with for Scion Restaurant.

ATL: What’s your favorite part about it?

My favorite part is definitely meeting the customers. Biglaw was not the environment for me. After teaching in the inner city and going to a very social law school, suddenly I was thrown into a situation where I felt very isolated. I completed assignments for hours on end sitting in an office that became very lonely. Yes, I got client interaction, but that’s never the same as getting to know people on a personal level. I felt my personality starting to shrivel away and my usual social outlets had to be sacrificed for the Biglaw hours. As every Biglaw associate knows, we’re anxious when we’re not busy billing hours and we’re exhausted when we are billing hours. A work/life balance or happy medium was impossible. In Biglaw, I began to lose a bit of my enthusiasm and spirit. I’m an extrovert and get much of my energy from interacting with other people. I missed that a lot and it’s a wonderful feeling to have it back.

ATL: Does the legal background help?

The legal background is a huge asset. My major role is to review restaurant contracts and documents and apply for licensing and certifications. My legal training makes it easy to figure out all the steps in the process and most importantly, allows me to complete all the necessary tasks without feeling overwhelmed with all the details. We also have hired legal counsel who has extensive experience in the restaurant industry, but he bills minimal hours and simply points me in the right direction. From there, I can handle the drafting and filing for most of our paperwork.

On a social level, the legal background also helps because people love discussing my Biglaw experience and how I balance a day job along with Scion. It’s a great topic of conversation when I’m working the floor of the restaurant. It also helps when I’m tapping into the Northwestern Law alumni network to set up happy hours, summer associate lunches and firm social events.

ATL: Any tips for lawyers who want to open their own restaurant?

This is a tough question to answer because so much of what we’ve learned about the restaurant industry has come from growing up in our parents’ restaurant. Opening a restaurant is definitely an experience where you’re learning something new every day. In the past six months, I’ve learned more about kitchen equipment, linen pricing and the various kinds of mixed greens than I could have ever hoped to learn.

My first tip is that anyone who wants to open a restaurant must be committed for the long haul and know that there will be a lot of sacrifice in your social life and finances before you’re “living the dream.” Joanne likes to kid that many of her friends are having babies and she decided to give birth to a restaurant. She loses about the same amount of sleep, if not more, and is stuck with it through the good times and bad. Of course, we hope Scion will be profitable sooner than a child would be, but we still have to love it unconditionally while it hasn’t yet given back to us.

My second tip is that as with anything I do in life, you have to have a sense of humor. There’s just nothing you can do when someone sends a dish back because their dog won’t like the leftovers, pukes in your flowers, or bashes you on yelp.com because your cheesecake didn’t taste like what their Mom used to make. Not every dish will come out perfectly and not every customer will love us. We give 110% and want everyone to leave happy, but when things go wrong, you can only laugh about it, support each other and trust that tomorrow is another day.

My final tip is to be flexible. The restaurant industry is unpredictable. You have to be willing to adapt to whatever is thrown at you and survive. We can never tell whether a week will be busy or slow, yet we still have to prepare the right amount of inventory and staff for every shift. I love meetings and agendas and plans of action, but the reality is that everything will not always go according to schedule in a restaurant. Preparation is essential in running a restaurant, but the key to success is being good under pressure and knowing how to handle things when everything goes wrong.

Earlier: Career Alternatives for Attorneys: Entrepreneur / Small (or Not So Small) Business Owner

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If you had income in a foreign country, for example from investments in stocks on a foreign stock exchange, mutual funds, or partnership interests, you may have paid or been charged for foreign income tax. The foreign income tax is normally withheld in the source country from payments and distributions. A mutual fund that invest overseas, for example, may incur foreign taxes on interest or dividends. If the fund meets certain requirements, it can pass the foreign tax along to its shareholders. And, you may be able to reduce your U.S. income tax for any foreign tax that you were charged on that income. 

Who Can Claim the Credit?

If you are a U.S. citizen or resident, you are generally subject to U.S. income tax on your worldwide earnings. But foreign income taxes can be taken as either a deduction, reducing your income subject to U.S. tax, or as a credit, directly reducing your U.S. tax burden. The intent of this foreign tax deduction or credit is to reduce or eliminate the double tax burden that would otherwise result when the same income is taxed in both a foreign country and in the United States. The foreign tax credit is generally the lower of the actual foreign income tax paid or accrued, or the amount of U.S. income tax that would apply on that foreign-source income.

Generally, if you were a nonresident alien for U.S. tax purposes, or you were a citizen of a U.S. possession (except for Puerto Rico) but not a U.S. citizen, you are not eligible to claim the foreign tax credit. Bona fide residents of Puerto Rico are subject to the same rules as U.S. citizens and residents, and qualify for the foreign tax deduction or credit. And there is an exception for nonresident aliens of the U.S. who pay tax to a foreign country or U.S. possession on income that is effectively connected with a trade or business in the United States.

In order to qualify for the foreign tax credit, the tax must have been imposed on you, and you must have paid or accrued the tax. But there are instances in which you can claim the credit for foreign taxes that you did not directly pay or accrue yourself. 

· Taxpayers who are married filing jointly can claim the deduction or credit for foreign taxes paid or accrued by either spouse, or by both spouses. 

· Members of a partnership, or shareholders in an S corporation can claim the credit for their proportionate share of foreign income taxes paid or accrued by the partnership or S corporation and passed along to them. These amounts should be reported on Schedule K-1. 

· A beneficiary of a trust or estate can claim the credit based on a proportionate share of the foreign tax on the trust or estate.
· Mutual fund shareholders can claim a credit for the foreign tax that the fund allocates to its shareholders, as reported on Form 1099-DIV. 

· Shareholders of controlled foreign corporations (CFCs), who choose to be taxed at corporate rates on their income from the corporation can claim a credit for their share of the foreign taxes paid or accrued by the corporation. In this case, the credit would be claimed by filing Form 1118, Foreign Tax Credit – Corporations. 

What Foreign Taxes Qualify for the Credit?

The foreign tax deduction or credit for individuals is available only for foreign income taxes, and not other types of foreign taxes such as real and personal property taxes. Foreign income taxes, for this purpose, include war profits and excess profits taxes, and taxes in lieu of income taxes.

Foreign real property taxes may be claimed as an itemized deduction in the Taxes section of Schedule A. Other foreign taxes could be deducted if they are expenses incurred in a trade or business, or for the production of income. In this case, these taxes would be reported on the applicable form, such as Schedule C or E.

If the United States has a treaty with the foreign country to avoid double taxation, and it is reasonably certain that any foreign tax paid will be refunded, or credited, or that a lower treaty rate will apply, the foreign tax credit for U.S. income tax purposes can only be claimed for the amount that will effectively be charged, after any refund or credit, or that will be imposed at the lower treaty tax rate. 

Foreign Earned Income

If you have income from personal services you performed in a foreign country, either as an employee or self-employed in your own business, you may be better off to claim the foreign earned income exclusion. This tax break allows you to exclude from your U.S. taxable income up to a certain amount of income earned in a foreign country ($80,000 for 2005). To claim the foreign earned income exclusion, you would need to file Form 2555 or 2555EZ.

If you claim the exclusion, you would not be able to claim a deduction or credit on your U.S. income tax return for the foreign income tax on your earned income. 

Foreign Tax on Investments

The foreign tax credit applies to passive income, or investment income such as interest and dividends. For example, if you have diversified your investment portfolio to include investments in other countries, you may have incurred taxable income in one or more foreign countries. The foreign tax that was paid on these dividends or distributions is reported in box 6 of Form 1099-DIV – Dividends and Distributions, that you receive from your investment fund manager, or on Form 1099-INT in the case of interest income. 

Holding Period for Stocks

If you directly own stocks on a foreign stock exchange and you have foreign income tax on dividends from those stocks, there is a holding period requirement in order to qualify for the foreign tax credit: 

· For common stock, you must have held the stock for at least 16 days during the 31-day period that begins 15 days before the ex-dividend date. 

· For preferred stock, if the dividends cover a period of 366 days or more, you must have held the stock for at least 46 days during the 91-day period that begins 45 days before the ex-dividend date. 

There is an exception to these holding period rules for securities dealers. 

Itemized Deduction

As an individual taxpayer, you can claim these foreign taxes as an itemized deduction on Schedule A, along with other taxes you paid, such as real estate taxes and state and local income taxes. You would report the amount of the foreign taxes separately, in the Taxes section of Schedule A, and indicate on the dotted line next to the amount that this deduction is for “Foreign Taxes”, or “Foreign Tax from 1099-DIV”, if applicable.

By doing this you are increasing your itemized deductions, reducing your taxable income, and therefore reducing your U.S. tax at your effective tax rate. The net tax benefit would therefore be the amount of the foreign taxes times your effective tax rate, assuming you are not subject to any limitation on the amount of your itemized deductions because of the level of your adjusted gross income.

If you take the standard deduction instead of itemizing, you can claim the foreign tax credit. 

Foreign Tax Credit

Claiming a credit rather than a deduction directly reduces your U.S. income tax by the same amount of the foreign taxes you paid. Assuming there are no limitations on the amount of the credit you can claim, you would be able to take advantage of 100% of the foreign taxes to reduce your U.S. taxes. Therefore, claiming a credit rather than a deduction will generally provide you with a greater tax benefit. 

Form 1116 and the Exception

To claim a credit for foreign taxes, you would generally have to file Form 1116. But if you meet certain requirements, you may be able to avoid filing this form and report the credit directly on Form 1040. These requirements are: 

· Your only gross taxable income from foreign sources is passive income, such as investment income, including interest, dividends, annuities, rents, and royalties. 

· Your foreign income is reported on a payee statement, such as a 1099-DIV, or 1099-INT. 

· Your total foreign taxes are $300 or less, if you are single, and $600 or less, if you are married filing jointly.

If you meet these requirements, and choose not to file Form 1116, you can report the credit directly on line 44 of your Form 1040. In this case you would have to file Form 1040, and not 1040A or 1040EZ.

If you complete Form 1116, you will need to know the amount of the foreign income corresponding to the foreign income tax, and the country in which the income was earned. If your foreign tax comes from income on investments, such as in a mutual fund, there is a box on Form 1099-DIV to indicate the country (box 7). But the mutual fund may have investments in more than one foreign country. In this case, you would need to refer to the annual report you receive from the mutual fund, or from your broker, to find the corresponding foreign income by country.

If you qualify, and you choose to claim the foreign tax credit directly on Form 1040, rather than filing Form 1116, you will not be able to carry back or carry forward any foreign tax credit that you cannot use in the current year. By filing Form 1116, if you cannot use the full amount of the foreign tax this year, because of the limitation described below, you are to carry back and carry forward any unused portion of the credit. For tax years beginning after October 22, 2004, any unused foreign taxes can be carried back one year and carried forward for 10 years. 

Foreign Tax Credit Limitation

Your foreign tax credit is limited to the smaller of the actual foreign tax you paid, or the equivalent U.S. income tax that would apply on the foreign income at your effective U.S. tax rate. This limitation is built into the calculations of the allowable foreign tax credit on Form 1116. The effect of this limitation is that, if the foreign tax rate is higher than your effective U.S. tax rate, there will be no U.S. tax on the related foreign-source income. And, if the foreign tax rate is lower than the U.S. tax rate, you will be subject to U.S. income tax on the foreign income for the difference in the tax rates. But, even if the limitation applies, you will normally get a bigger tax benefit by claiming the foreign tax credit rather than an itemized deduction.

If you qualify, and choose to claim the credit directly on Form 1040, without filing Form 1116, the limitation does not apply. As indicated above, this would only apply if your foreign tax credit is $300 or less if you are single, and $600 or less if you are married filing jointly. 

Foreign Tax Refund

If all or part of the foreign taxes are subsequently refunded, you will have to file an amended U.S. income tax return (Form 1040X), and a revised Form 1116, if applicable, for the year in which you originally claimed the deduction or credit. 

Choosing the Deduction or the Credit

For each year you have foreign taxes you can choose whether to claim the itemized deduction or the foreign tax credit. You can change your choice from one year to another. But generally, you must claim either the deduction or the credit for all your foreign taxes in a given year – you cannot claim a deduction for part of them and a credit for the rest. If you are in doubt as to which method provides the most tax benefit, you may want to calculate your taxes both ways. 

Foreign Currency Conversion

If the foreign tax is paid in a foreign currency, you have to convert it to dollars to determine the amount of your deduction or credit for U.S. income tax purposes. The way you convert the foreign currency depends on your functional currency. Generally this is the U.S. dollar, unless you are required to use a foreign currency. If you are an individual with investments overseas that are generating foreign income and foreign income taxes, your functional currency is the U.S. dollar. Generally, only a separate business entity that maintains its books in a foreign currency would have a functional currency other than the U.S. dollar. If you are reporting foreign income tax from a payee statement, such as Form 1099-DIV or 1099-INT, the amount will be expressed in U.S. dollars.

If you are claiming a deduction or credit for foreign income tax that is not reported on a payee statement, and your functional currency is the U.S. dollar, you would have to translate the foreign currency amounts into U.S. dollars at the time you receive the income and on the date(s) you pay the taxes. If the taxes are withheld from your income, you would use the exchange rate in effect on the withholding date. According to the Internal Revenue Service, if there is more than one exchange rate in effect for that particular currency, you should use the rate that “most properly reflects your income”.

If your functional currency is not the U.S. dollar, you would determine your income and expense in the functional currency, and then at the end of the year, translate the results (net income or loss) into U.S. dollars to report on your tax return.

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