Tax day is upon, so you’re really under the gun if you haven’t done your taxes yet. If you rush, you may overlook many common, valuable tax deductions. Failing to take account of these deductions could cost you thousands.
Tax day is upon, so you’re really under the gun if you haven’t done your taxes yet. If you rush, you may overlook many common, valuable tax deductions. Failing to take account of these deductions could cost you thousands.
You can deduct premiums paid for medical and dental insurance and qualified long-term care insurance for you, your spouse and your dependents if you are either self-employed, a partner with net earnings from self-employment or a shareholder owning more than 2 percent of the outstanding stock of an S corporation.
If you give property to a qualified charitable organization, you generally can deduct the fair market value of the property at the time of the contribution. Donating to charity is a great way to clean out old inventory – including furniture and office equipment – and get a deduction in the process.
Stock market got you down? If there is a silver lining to the financial turmoil, it’s that any worthless stock you own is tax-deductible. The worthless securities are treated as though they were capital assets sold on the last day of the tax year, and are indicated by writing “Worthless” in the appropriate column on Form 1040, Schedule D.
You can usually deduct the cost of institutional or goodwill advertising to keep your name before the public if it relates to business you reasonably expect to gain in the future.
Any convenience fee charged to you by a credit card companies to accept their cards is a deductible business expense.
Want to show your appreciation to your loyal customers? Send them a nice gift. It’s tax deductible. But don’t make it too nice: Business gifts are deductible to a maximum of $25 per recipient.
You can usually deduct tax preparation fees in the year you pay them. On your 2008 return, you can deduct fees paid in 2008 for preparing your 2007 return. These fees include the cost of tax preparation software programs and tax publications. They also include any fee you paid for electronic filing of your return.
If you buy a franchise, trademark or trade name, you can deduct the amount you pay or incur as a business expense only if your payments are part of a series of payments that are necessary for you to use it; paid annually for the entire term of the transfer agreement, and substantially equal in amount (or payable under a fixed formula).
If you need to lay off employees and want to help them find other work, the costs of outplacement services you provide, such as career counseling, résumé assistance and skills assessment, are deductible.
Subscriptions to professional, technical and trade journals that deal with your business field—print and online—are deductible.
The tax code for business expenses isn’t easy to understand and the government is conducting more audits. You shouldn’t guess at what’s an allowable deductible. If you haven’t done your taxes, it’s not too late to get an eleventh-hour extension and the professional tax preparation assistance.
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