Tax Info For Home-Based Business Owners

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UNCLE SAM WILL PAY YOU TO RUN A HOME-BASED BUSINESS

Most Business Operating Costs are 100% Deductible!

• The Bottom line answer is that they’re normally 100% deductible! The costs of starting-up your home business, promotional materials, product samples, meeting attendance, internet access fee, special phone services, fax lines, lead lists, web site fees, 800-number, printing costs, briefcases, business cards, home office furnishings and more. All can be 100% deductible if they are used 100% for business. 

• The rule of thumb is this: any expense you incur because of your business, that you would not have incurred if you didn’t have a business, is probably deductible. Oftentimes you can turn some of your normal everyday expenses into tax deductible business expenses.

• Many people in home-based businesses can honestly and legitimately deduct $5,000 to $7,000 or more per year, for using their personal vehicles for business purposes. Keeping a 90 day log once a year showing the date, destination, primary purpose and miles traveled for each use, are the only records most people need to keep. 

• Note that only the Primary Purpose of each trip needs to be recorded, so if you combine a personal errand with a necessary business errand, the vehicle use is still tax-deductible, as long as the personal errand did not add any additional mileage. 

• Tax laws even give you a choice of methods of computing the value of your deductions. Figure the deduction both ways, and use the one that benefits you the most.