If you’re an entrepreneur you should know about hidden expenses when operating your business like maintaining equipment including cars or trucks that generates your income.  Maintenance costs can have an effect on your profit margin.  You should know that the IRS does allow certain businesses and the self-employed to take a car tax deduction if the vehicle is used for business purposes.

New Car Sales Tax Deduction 2010, 2011

If you use your vehicle for personal and business you must seperate the expenses between the two.  Personal expenses cannot be deducted but business can.  The expenses that are allowable are gas, oil, repairs, insurance, depreciation, taxes and licenses.   You may only take depreciation on your vehicle if used for more than 50% in the operation of your business which is an expense allowance over the estimated life of the vehicle.

There are two ways you may take a car tax deduction.  A business mileage rate which is 50 cents a mile since July 2010 or an actual method.  The business mileage method is taking the business miles driven in the calendar year and multiplying by the mileage rate.  If you elect to use this method you may not deduct maintenance or depreciation.  If using the actual method these would be the actual costs you accumulated within the year along with depreciation.

How to Use Car Lease Payments as a Tax

So if you’re searching for additional deductions for your business don’t forget take a look at a car tax deduction to help you reduce your tax liability.  The IRS consistantly changes their tax codes for business vehicles, make sure you have the updated information for the year you are filing.  If unsure if you qualify for any vehicle deductions seek professional help with a certified public accountant.

Let’s get something started together at landrpromotionalitems.com

 Property Tax Deductions 

Owning your own home has alot of tax benefits, itemizing expenses like interest you paid on your mortgage.  Since the Housing Assistance Tax Act in 2008 you can take a tax deduction for a portion of the property tax that was paid, even if you just take a standard deduction.  The additional deduction you can claim is the lower of these options:  real estate property taxes paid within the year to your state and local governments or filing single, $500, filing jointly, $1,000.

Real Estate Tax Deduction

Can all homeowners take the property tax deduction?  Most of the people who have paid off their mortgage or close to paying off their mortgage and homeowners that did not have enough mortgage interest to deduct in 2009.  You may still qualify for the property tax deduction if you purchased your home in 2009 and qualified for the home buyer tax credit.

Business Property

Let’s get something started together at landrpromotionalitems.com

How to Calculate Federal Income Tax to Pay to the IRS

How much you can take for a standard deduction depends on your filing status.  For a single filer the amount is $5,700, married couple filing jointly $11,400, head of household which could be a single parent with children can claim $8,350.  Over the age of 65 the amounts are different.  The IRS added extraordinary tax deductions in 2009 for the taxpayers that used the standard deduction may include federal tax deductions for real estates taxes that were paid, $500 single, $1,000 married.  They also included a sales tax deduction on a new vehicle as long as it was purchased after 2/16/2009 but before 12/31/09.

Online Federal Tax Tips

Looking to deduct medical expenses, not so easy.  You may only use this deduction if they exceed 7.5% of your income.  Also, some people pay toward their health insurance through their employers checks, these are not deductible since it is deducted out of untaxed money.  There is a list of allowable medical deductions which is long but good record keeping is a must.  Some may include expenses such as co-pays, glasses, dental work, nursing home care costs and even mileage getting to and from medical appointments.

State Legislators Can Take Special Federal Tax Deduction

When filing your tax returns you can review the 2010 Federal Income Tax Brackets (IRS Tax Rates).  When in doubt always seek professional tax help.

Let’s get something started together at landrpromotionalitems.com

Many people in a trade or business usually wonder about a list of tax deductions.  What can I deduct and what is allowed.  The most important is the expenses you incur in operating a trade or business as long as it is operated to make a profit.  An expense is considered to be ordinary and necessary. 

Keep good book keeping records by seperating your business expenses into catagories like, capital expenses, expenses for the cost of goods you sell and personal expenses.  Capital expenses are normally captialized and depreciated over a 7 year period then being fully deducted at one time, these are known as assets.  An accountant can advise you on which way they should be deducted.  Expenses for cost of goods would include any raw material, labor costs, etc… in manufacturing the products. 

Also on the list of tax deductions can be any business start up costs you incur.  Any business assets you purchase and improvements can be deducted.

List Of Tax Deductions | Self Employed 
List Of Tax Deductions | Self Employed

Bill | MySpace Video

If your place of business is in your home you may deduct part of your home expenses, which includes utilities, repairs, mortgage interest, insurance, property taxes, etc…  You may only deduct a percentage of your expenses which is calculated on the square footage space that you use to operate your business. 

Included on the list of tax deductions is the business use of your vehicle.  If you use your vehicle for business and personal you may only deduct your portion based on the actual mileage.  If your mileage is 10,000 miles per year and 2,500 miles were driven for personal use, your deduction would be 75% for business use.  A well maintained mileage log must be keep when this deduction is taken.

Get Information On Small Business Tax Deductions

Watch Get Information On Small Business Tax Deductions in Activism & Non-Profit  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
It is a good idea to hire a certified accountant that can assist you in the list of tax deductions that are allowed under the tax laws.  This will help in advoiding an audit which can be triggered by deducting items that are not allowed.

 Let’s get something started together at landrpromotionalitems.com

B-to-B Marketing Fundamentals Don’t Change

Wish lists for b2b marketing and sales should be put on the back burner.  These can be implemented into your marketing budget when the economy becomes stronger and you have the funding.  Determine which b2b marketing campaigns will have the largest impact on sales and leads.  Keep these at the top of your list.

With marketing budgets tight, trying to reach the entire consumer market is impossible.  Focus your b2b marketing campaigns on product benefits, features and applications to a targeted group of prospects.  Use your b2b marketing dollars wisely for those short term results.  If you have an website, this can enhance your company image.  You want to take a look at which marketing campaigns worked in the past and what did not produce any or enough sales.

There are 16 proven techniques for better B2B sales leads generation with print advertising.  When dealing with a media rep ask for stats on the percentages of subscribers.  It is better to advertise in one or two magazine publications with more readers than spreading your advertising dollars throughout numerous publications that will not benefit you in the end.

Boosting your company’s sales with B2B marketing attending tradeshows.  Be selective on choosing which ones to attend due to the cost.  You can reduce costs by choosing a smaller booth and speaking with your dealer, distributor or people that resell your products.  This helps with staffing your booth with your own employees.  You also want to notify the attendees to stop by your booth when attending the tradeshow.

B2B Marketing

Another b2b marketing technique is to consider having a website built for your company that can reach millions of visitors a year.  You can promote your products or services to other businesses that otherwise may not no you even exist.  Select a marketing company that can assist you in submitting your site to search engines and choosing the correct keywords.  You can list special offers and call to action on each page.

I listed just a few ideas about b2b marketing.  Focusing on ways to reduce your costs but finding programs where your efforts will get you results.  You should never completely slash your marketing budget where you do not advertise your companys products or services.

B2B Marketing is Boring, but Doesn’t Have to Be

Let’s get something started together at landrpromotionalitems.com

NWRHDUM8US2E

Basics of Tax Deductible Business Expenses

Basics of Tax Deductible Business Expenses — powered by eHow.com

Get to recognize the high seven tax deductions for home businesses.  These must qualify as an expense that is incurred by conducting or business associated with a trade or profession and type of expense that is ordinary and or necessary in operating the business.  A  tax deductible expense cannot be excessive given the set of circumstances pertaining to the expense.

You can determine what does and does not qualify for a tax deductible expense.  Search for your state revenue agency or IRS online.  Many government agencies will list guidelines that can help you to catagorize your expenses and determine which ones are tax deductible and which ones are not.  You should be able to print the documents that you locate online or request hard copies by phone to be mailed directly to you.

Often Overlooked Tax Deductions

Another option is to seek a professional accountant for income tax tips for year 2010.  Many attend refresher classes in December before starting to prepare tax returns for the tax year.  They not only know about the current tax laws and what is allowed for tax deductible expenses, but are knowledgeable on how state and federal agencies interpret certain deductible expenses.  This takes the guess work out of whether or not an expense is tax deductible or not.  Just taking the time to find out as much as possible on which tax deductible expenses are allowed will make it much easier and less frustrating when filing your annual tax return.

Expense Tracking Made Easy 

Let’s get something started together at landrpromotionalitems.com