Are you claiming and receiving deductions on your taxes? Are you making money and working from? If you are then this post is for you!! Below you will find a list of items that are usually considered tax deductible. Make sure you keep receipts for anything you purchase relative to your home business. Should you get audited you will want to ensure you have proof to back up any of the items you are attempting to use as a deduction. Just FYI the IRS usually looks more heavily at home based business so make sure you have your ducks in a row. Also, you may want to invest in a scanner if you don’t already have one. You can scan your receipts and Volia! you are done.
#1 Internet and Hosting Expenses
It costs money to run a website and these expenses might be tax deductible for you! Your internet service, web hosting fees and your domain registration are some of the expenses that might quality for a deduction. Be sure to keep track of your hosting, internet and domain registration fees so that you can talk to your tax professional about what qualifies and what doesn’t.
#2 Conference and Other Travel
Have you traveled to a conference recently? If so you might be able to write off your conference ticket, hotel and any other travel costs associated with your trip. If your conference was paid for by a brand then it might not be considered tax deductible. Your accountant should be able to go over the details of your conference and let you know what percentage of your trip can be considered a write off.
#3 Advertising
Did you pay for advertising? Advertising could be paying to have your business listed on someone else’s website, to purchase postcards from VistaPrint. Did you pay Facebook or Google this year to promote your site? If so, this is an advertising cost. Please go to your online accounts with Facebook or Google Ad Words and look at the account history. Print it off and use it as a receipt. If you have done ANY sort of advertising you will need to bring this up with your CPA, or whomever prepares your taxes. These items are considered tax deductible in most states.
#4 Design and Maintenance
Maintaining your home based business can be extremely expensive! You might pay someone to do the maintenance on your website, maybe you paid to rent a conference room, you may have even paid your kids to CLEAN the house before your home party. Either way these are expenses related to your home based business and will probably count as a deduction. The same goes with any design work you have done to your website, product delivery, and etc. You may also have a Virtual Assistant or Part Time Independent Contractor that helps you. Hiring, buying, stocking, subscribing, and etc. are all expenses. So KEEP track.
#5 Supplies
If you are purchasing computer equipment, business cards or office supplies make sure you are saving your receipts. Any type of office supply might be considered tax deductible.
#6 Home Office Space Deduction
If you have a home office in your home you might be able to get even more deductions based on the square footage of your office and home. You will be able to use the square footage of your home, the utilities for that space, and other little perks. You work hard and deserve the deductions! Enjoy the extra refund!
In Great Faith and Love,
If you like the content that you are reading and want to learn how we will pay YOU to write the same meaningful content, please click HERE
I’m so glad I found this post. I’m saving this post so I can read it again when I begin my 2014 taxes.
LikeLike
Hey Carla! I’m glad that it helped. Thanks for coming by my blog.
LikeLike
“Also, you may want to invest in a scanner if you don’t already have one. You can scan your receipts and Volia! you are done.” Great recommendation! CamScanner is a scanning app that I use to scan my receipts and imporatent notes. It’s available on android ( not sure if it’s available on iOS too), and it’s so simple to use. And you can share fyour scans with your team or connect it to your Evernote account. So useful!
LikeLike
Hey Anthony! Thanks for sharing this great tip with our readers! Fantastic!
LikeLike
Wow! I didn’t know about #6. I’ll have to get in contact with my tax guy to see if I can take advantage of this.
LikeLike
Hi Pacey! Yes writing off the space that you use in your home as your home office can be a huge deduction.
LikeLike
Would ADA home office accommodations be deductible, too?
LikeLike
Hi Tucker! I am not familiar with ADA but of it’s a home office, you should be able to write off the space that you use inside your home, the phone, lights, and more. Just as a disclaimer, I am not a CPA so I would suggest going over these things with a CPA to maximize your deductions! Thanks for coming by.
LikeLike