10 Home Based Business Tax Tips

Filing for taxes for your home business is a little more difficult then filing your own personal tax. On one hand, an employer provides a nice little W2 and on the other, you may be able to cut more taxes for your home business.

Below are 10 home based business tax tips:

1. Deduct your home office: To qualify your home office as a legitimate business expense, it’s got to be a place that is used exclusively for business activities. If your kitchen table doubles as your work desk, you won’t be able to deduct it. But, if you’ve got a dedicated room for an office, or even a portion of a room, you’ll be able to deduct some of your housing costs.2. Home utilities: If you’re taking a home office deduction, you’re also able to deduct a portion of your utility bills—namely your monthly heating and electricity bills. In this case, you can deduct the same percentage as the rent/mortgage deduction described above. You can also deduct some of your broadband/Internet bill, but you’ve got to take into account that you most likely use your home broadband for non-work purposes as well. For example, Sarah deducts 50% of her monthly broadband bill as a business expense.3. Office supplies: Don’t forget all the paper, ink toner, postage, paperclips, etc. that you purchase. These are all fully deductible (provided you can prove you’re using them for your business). How about your new computer or iPad? These can also be deducted. However, keep in mind that if you only have one tablet or laptop, then most likely you’re also using it for personal purposes as well. And in this case, you can only expense the percentage of how much the equipment is used for business (i.e. 50% or 60%).

4. Travel expenses: Did you attend a conference this year? Do you travel to meet a client (and aren’t reimbursed for those costs)? If so, you can deduct these expenses. Here’s what you need to know:

You can deduct any transportation costs (plane tickets, bus fare, taxis, airport parking, rental car)

You can deduct your lodging and tips

You can deduct 50% of your meals for business days

Also, keep in mind that if you have an out-of-town business day on Friday and one on Monday, you’re also allowed to deduct your lodging and meal costs from over the weekend too!

5. Autos and commuting: If you’re working from home, you obviously can’t deduct any kind of daily commute—you also can’t deduct your morning trip to the local coffee house (no matter how necessary it might be!). But if you travel to meet a client, perform a job outside the home, purchase business supplies, conduct research, or do any other kind of activity for your job, you can deduct this travel. That includes a standard mileage deduction (or public transit fares), parking, and tolls.

6. Taking a client out to lunch: Taking a client out to lunch is a time-honored tradition, but it also causes its fair share of issues tax-wise. First, you can only deduct 50% of the meal, not the whole thing. And perhaps more importantly, the IRS is going to be on the lookout for excessive or extravagant deductions. You’re going to run into trouble if you think you can fly a client to Barcelona for tapas or try to expense a $300 bottle of Cabernet with lunch.

7. Upgrade your office: If you’ve been thinking about a new desk, office chair, bookcase, task lamp, or other office furniture, keep in mind that these are all allowable deductions. Trying to expense a new painting might be a stretch, unless you bring clients to your home office. There are two ways to claim a deduction: all at once in the year when you made the purchase or gradually over the life of the property (known as depreciation deductions).

8. Your health insurance: Self-employed individuals (including sole proprietors) may be able to deduct the cost of health insurance for themselves and their family. However, you can’t deduct your insurance for any time when you’re able to participate in an employer-subsidized plan (i.e. through your spouse or partner).

9. Retirement plan: I know that for many small business owners and freelancers, especially those who are just starting out, the monthly cash flow can be tight and you’re thinking more about the present than the future. However, stashing away money in a tax-deferred retirement plan is one of the best ways to lower your taxes. I encourage every small business owner to at least set up a plan, even if you’re just contributing a bare minimum at first.

10. Business structure: If you’ve ever filed taxes as a sole proprietor, then you understand that you’ve also got to pay self-employment taxes. Forming a corporation or an LLC (and then making what’s called an “S Corp Election”) might help you reduce your self-employment taxes. That’s because with an S Corporation, you can pay yourself a “reasonable salary”; any remaining profits can be taken as a profit distribution (and these aren’t subject to self-employment taxes).