Business Tips That Will Save You Money
Here are some business tips that can help you save money on your taxes.
Lose a Receipt?
If you lose a receipt or other business record, reconstruct it as soon as you can. Take a picture of the item purchased. If you review your records monthly, this will make it easier to recognized lost receipts and reconstruct your records.
Off-Site Storage
If you are using an off-site storage unit to store items used in your business, you are entitled to deduct the business portion of the storage cost. To determine the business portion of this cost, use your Time-Space Percentage or use the business portion of the storage space dedicated to your business items. You can also deduct the mileage to and from the storage unit if the primary purpose of the trip is to transport business items.
Van Used 100% for Business
If you use your van 100% of the time for your business, you must still track each business trip to prove that you did use it only for your business. In other words, it is not sufficient for you to claim that your van is used 100% for your business without keeping records showing each business trip you made. Such records can be as simple as a notation in a calendar showing the destination and purpose of the trip. Other records can include receipts, cancelled checks, credit/debit car monthly statements, field trip permission forms, etc.
Deductible Telephone Expenses
Even though you can't deduct the monthly cost of the first telephone line into your home, you can deduct the following telephone expenses: long distance calls, caller id, custom ringing, headset, repair fees, answering machine, business listing in the Yellow Pages, TDD (Telecommunication Device for the Deaf), etc.
Magazines
You can deduct the cost of magazines that are useful to your business. These include magazines that contain recipes, parenting tips or other business information. Examples: Sesame Street, Scholastic, Ranger Rick, Jack and Jill, National Geographic, Good Housekeeping, Pre-K Today, etc. Use your Time-Space Percentage to deduct the cost of magazines also used by your own children or your family.
Tom Copeland - www.tomcopelandblog.com
Image credit: https://www.storagepartners.com/self-storage/gresham-or-957For a list of over 1,000 allowable business deductions, see my book Family Child Care Record Keeping Guide.
