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.

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 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

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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

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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

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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.

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Are you looking to start a small business, company or expanding your existing business?  Learn how to do market research for your new company formation.  First you must ask yourself which type of business do you want to develop and what type of identity do you want to create.  If you are going into business alone, you may want to consider sole proprietorship.  This type of company formation can be operated as a DBA and by your social security number or file for an Employer Identification Number also known as an EIN.  This company formation does place more legal responsibility on you.  Consider all the options when choosing which business formation.

Company Formations Advice – Choosing a Company Name 

Another company formation maybe a partnership with two or more people operating the company.  There are several different partnerships to consider, limited or general are the most common.  You want to select others with the same business goals and someone who you can work well with and willing to take on the responsibilities of the financial burden and be held accountable.  Some partnerships are set up as a Limited Liability Company.  There are some costs involved in this company formation but it also gives you an umbrella of liability protection.  Seek legal advice before setting up any form of partnership, an oral agreement would not be recommended.

Incorporating your business maybe another option, but this can be complex.  There are much more costs involved than the other two options.  This is where you have a stockholder or a group of stockholders controlling the company.  This company formation holds annual and regular scheduled meeting of stockholders for the board of directors where the minutes of the meetings must be documented outlining their business decisions.  Corporations are normally set up as a C or S Corporation. 

Company Formation 

You ask yourself which company formation is made simple, quick and inexpensive.  Take the necessary steps in seeking professional help with an accountant and possibility an attorney.  They can take you step by step in determining which company formation may best suit your needs. 

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I do have some experience in writing about home office deduction for small businesses.  We are a small business and work out of our home.  When filing your taxes and claiming a home office deduction the space must be exclusively for your business.  We have consulted with our accountant on which items are deductable, which items are not and the percentage of home space used for our small business.  Your deduction may be a room or space in a room as long as the space is identified as separate that you use for your home office deduction.

 The IRS states the following:
If you use a portion of your home for business purposes you may be able to take a home office deduction. Generally, in order to claim a business deduction for your home, you must use part of your home exclusively and regularly:
    •As your principal place of business, or
    •As a place to meet or deal with patients, clients or customers in the normal course of your business, or
    •In any connection with your trade or business where the business portion of your home is a separate structure not attached to your home.
    •For certain storage use, rental use, or daycare-facility use, you are required to use the property regularly but not exclusively.
Generally, the amount you can deduct depends on the percentage of your home used for business. Your deduction for certain expenses will be limited if your gross income from your business is less than your total business expenses.  There are special rules for qualified daycare providers and for persons storing business inventory or product samples.

The IRS is very clear on the exclusive use required by setting aside a space in your home for your business.  You may work a few hours or all day and six or seven days a week but don’t violate the exclusive use requirement by allowing your spouse or children to use the space for personal use, you may surrender the opportunity for the home office deduction.

My Home Office Deduction 

Having a business in our home vs renting an office space somewhere else in a building has reduced our overhead costs.  It has saved on rent, electric, heat and phone costs.  Would I recommend a home based business and taking the home office deduction, yes.  This benefit has given alot of small businesses a chance to grow and survive.  Don’t be afraid to take the home office deduction thinking is will trigger an audit by the IRS.  Alot of changes in the tax laws since the late 90s have made it much easier for people to start a small business and work out of the homes. 

How do you calculate the business percentage of your home?  The home office deduction is calulated on the square footage of the space used for your business divided by the overall square footage of your home.  If your space measures a 12 x12, the square footage would be 144 square feet.  If your home measures 28 x 40, the square footage is 1,120 square feet. Divide the space square footage by the home square footage, 12.8% (144 ÷ 1120).

What does the 12.8% percentage really mean.  You may be able to deduct a portion of your mortgage interest, property taxes, home owners insurance, electric, phone, heat and any general repairs and maintenance.  Any expenses to maintain or make repairs to the space is fully deductible. 

Home Business Tax Deductions (Home Office Deductions) 

What you cannot do is create a tax loss to cover other income.  Your home office deductions cannot go beyond your business income. When in doubt always check with your accountant to see which expenses you qualify for.  Having a professional advise you in the start up or existing business is never a bad idea.  They can give you direction that is beneficial to your home based business.

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