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Posted by Esther N. Phahla, CPA, A Professional Corporation

How can small business owners spend their tax savings?

How can small business owners spend their tax savings?

Every penny is essential for a business organization. Each business spends some time before tax year to review receipts and invoices. This procedure results in money expenditure instead of saving it. In fact, tax time is a critical time to save money to take tax advantage for your business. Some tax deductions are available and suitable for business. There is no need to spend money to the government. You must channel this money back into the business. Business owners often wonder how small business owners can pay their tax savings. Here are some deductions for small business organizations.

Expenses of Vehicle

You have to keep records of the year to prove your use of van, truck or car for business. At the time of tax payment, you have to deduct actual expenses, like tolls, parking, maintenance, and gasoline. You can use a simple route like standard mileage rate of IRS that is 54.5 cents/mile for 2018.

If you are making business deliveries or running errands in your vehicle, you have to track its mileage and run numbers to see an appropriate method for higher deduction. If you have to drive lots of miles, it will be good to use a standard rate of mileage while filing taxes. With an old vehicle, you will need regular maintenance. In this situation, you will get significant deductions by using mileage rate of IRS and actual expenses.

Deductions for Home Office

Are you running a particular part of your business from a site other than home? You may take new orders in the evening after parking your business vehicle. Are you running your entire business from home? For self-employed folks, home is a standard space for work. They may do job from their kitchen table or dedicate a particular room for office work. In this situation, calculate the size of deduction is associated with the area of the home that you are using as your office. For instance, designate a particular area for office and assign its square footage. The percentage of indirect and direct expenses like repairs, insurance, utilities and rent may be deducted. 

Bonus Depreciation

You may purchase a new capital apparatus, such as ovens for a pizzeria. You may get a break for depreciation tax that allows you to deduct almost 50% of the cost of purchase. It is essential to pay attention to your current changes. The depreciation bonus in a small business can drop deductions to almost 40%. As per IRS, your purchased asset must meet these requirements:

  • It should be a property or asset that gets thoroughly used up, loses its actual value with time or wears out.
  • The life of an asset should be more than a year.
  • It should be utilized in a small business or produce income.
  • Some things are not assets like heating or air conditioning units, inventory, and land. You are not allowed to deduct a particular amount that is more than your total taxable income.

Professional Services

While doing business, there is no need to have an in-house tax preparer, attorney or accountant. You can deduct the charges for their services. If you are hiring a consultant for the growth of your business, your paid costs for this service are deductible. You must pay the reasonable fee because IRS will accept appropriate deductions.

Wages and Salaries

If you are working as a sole owner or running an LLC company, you can’t deduct income and draws that you obtain from a business. The wages and salaries that you pay to faithful full-time and part-time employees behind cash registers are deductible. It will not halt at regular wages and salaries. The payments like tax paid by employer, allowances, lodging, meals, per diem and bonuses are deductible. Sometimes, you are allowed to deduct the value of payroll systems and software.

Tax Credit on Work Opportunities

If you have long-term unemployed folks or military veterans to work on your counter, you are eligible for a tax credit to almost 40 percent. This credit may be limited to initial wages of $6,000.

If you want to learn how small business owners can spend their tax savings, you must hire a professional accountant or tax preparer. These people can guide you as per the rules of your state.            

Esther N. Phahla, CPA, A Professional Corporation
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