Are you a home business owner who is planning on preparing your own taxes this year? If you are, you may want to know about the business deductions that you can claim. You'll be happy to know that there are a number of deductions that you may be eligible for. Just a few of those deductions are touched on below.
Your commercial space can be used as a tax deduction or a business expense. What's nice about this type of deduction is that it can be used a number of different ways. For instance, if you're a small business owner who operates an online business, you may actually work from your home. If you do, you can actually calculate the amount of square footage that your business takes up and calculate rent for yourself; rent that's tax deductible. The same can be done if you rent a commercial building space from a commercial landlord.
The supplies that you need for your business can also be considered tax deductible. For instance, if you run a pet grooming salon and you recently decided to update your equipment, you may be able to write off the new equipment as a business expense; a business expense that's tax deductible. When it comes to supplies that your business may need to survive, it can be anything from a new computer, to computer paper, to pens, and a stapler.
To save yourself the most money on taxes this year, you'll want to get as many tax deductions as you possibly can. Of course, you'll want to do so legally though.
In addition to the supplies that you may need to run your home business, the furniture that you need can also be written off as a business expense. In keeping with the above mentioned example of running a pet grooming business, if you run a pet grooming business, you may need to have an office desk, office chairs, as well as lobby or waiting room chairs. All of these furniture pieces and others that may need to be purchased can be considered businesses expenses and can be written off as deductions.
Don't forget to claim your telephone and internet charges as business expenses... especially if you're business is an online one. A portion of your utilities, if your business is a home business, can also be claimed as a tax deduction.
The above mentioned business expenses are just a few of the many that can be written off, but they are some of the most obvious ones. One other expense that you may be able to receive a tax deduction for is any insurance that needs to be purchased. This can be looked at form a couple of different perspectives. For instance, if you need to buy your own health insurance coverage, the money spent on coverage can be deducted from your profits made.
Also, if you run a business that requires you to be insured, like a pet grooming business or even a hair salon, the cost of insurance coverage can also be considered a deductible business expense.
As nice as it is to know what type of tax deductions you may be able to claim or business expenses that you may be able to write off, it's important that you remember to save all applicable documents and receipts. For instance, if you're going to list your new office desk as a business expense, you need to make sure that you have proof that you actually bought it, when you bought it, and how much you paid for it. That's why it's extremely important that you keep accurate business records, all year round, not just at tax time.
Best of luck with your business,
Until Next Time,
Terry
