Small business expenses and tax deductions

Self-employed indidviduals and sole proprietors are allowed to deduct business-related expenses from their gross income when calculating the federal taxes they owe. This guide, based on information provided by the IRS, examines the types of business expenses and tax deductions allowed by the tax code of the U.S. (Note: You should always seek the advice of your accountant, financial advisor or other professional for guidance related to your specific situation.)

Business expense vs. Capital expense

There are two basic tax concepts new business owners need to add to their vocabulary: business expenses and capital expenses.

Business expenses are the cost of conducting a trade or business. These expenses are common costs of doing business, and are usually tax deductible if your business is for profit. For example, costs of renting a storefront, business travel, and paying employees are all deductible business expenses.

Capital expenses are the costs of purchasing specific assets, such as property or equipment, that usually have a life of a year or more and increase the quality and quantity of products and services. For example, if you own a landscaping business and you purchase mowers and excavating equipment, these costs are capital expenses and do not qualify as deductible business expenses. However, you can recover the money you spent on capital expenses through depreciation, amortization, or depletion. These recovery methods allow you to deduct part of your cost each year. In this way, you are ableto recover your capital expenses over time.

Figuring business expenses vs. capital expenses is not always clear cut. Consider taking advantage of free tax training opportunities offered by the IRS. If you have hired an accountant, you should also seek his or her advice regarding tax deductions.

Deducting Business Expenses

To be deductible, a business expense must be both "ordinary" and "necessary." An ordinary expense is one that is common and accepted in your field of business. A necessary expense is one that is helpful and appropriate for your business.

Personal vs. Business Expenses

Generally, you cannot deduct personal, living, or family expenses. However, if you have an expense for something that is used partly for business and partly for personal purposes, divide the total cost between the business and personal portions. You can deduct the business portion. For example, if you borrow money and use 70% of it for business and the other 30% for a family vacation, you can deduct 70% of the interest as a business expense. The remaining 30% is personal interest and is not deductible.

Home Office Deduction

If you use part of your home for business, you may be able to deduct expenses for the business use of your home. These expenses may include mortgage interest, insurance, utilities, repairs, and depreciation. The home office deduction is available for homeowners and renters, and applies to all types of homes, from apartments to mobile homes. There are two basic requirements for your home to qualify as a deduction:

1. Regular and Exclusive Use. You must regularly use part of your home exclusively for conducting business. For example, if use an extra bedroom to run your online business, you can make home office deduction for the extra bedroom.
2. Principal Place of Your Business. You must show that you use your home as your principal place of business. If you conduct business at a location outside of your home, but also use your home substantially and regularly to conduct business, you may qualify for a home office deduction. For example, if you have in-person meetings with patients, clients, or customers in your home in the normal course of your business, even though you also carry on business at another location, you can deduct your expenses for the part of your home used exclusively and regularly for business. You can deduct expenses for a separate free-standing structure, such as a studio, garage, or barn, if you use it exclusively and regularly for your business. The structure does not have to be your principal place of business or the only place where you meet patients, clients, or customers.

Generally, deductions for a home office are based on the percentage of your home devoted to business use. So, if you use a whole room or part of a room for conducting your business, you need to figure out the percentage of your home devoted to your business activities.

Travel, Meals, Entertainment and Gifts

Generally, you can deduct all of your travel expenses if your trip was entirely business-related. These expenses include the travel costs of getting to and from your business destination and any business-related expenses at your business destination, including tips, cab fare, and other "life on the road" expenses such as dry cleaning. Meals are the only exception. You can deduct only 50 percent of your meals while traveling.

If your business trip includes personal side trips or extended stays for a personal vacation, you can only deduct travel expenses used for business-related activities. For example, suppose you live in Atlanta, and then went on a 5 day business trip to New York. You spent 3 days in business meetings, and two days sight-seeing and visiting friends. You can only deduct the costs of the 3 days you spent on business activities.

If you take your family on vacation to Hawaii, and conduct business there, you can deduct any expenses that are directly related to your business. However, you may not deduct the entire cost of the trip as business expense.

Business Use of Your Car

If you use your car in your business, you can deduct car expenses. If you use your car for both business and personal purposes, you must divide your expenses based on actual mileage. Refer to the Standard Mileage Rates Car Expenses Section in IRS Publication 463, Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses.

Other Types of Deductible Business Expenses

There are numerous other costs of doing business that qualify as deductions. These include but are not limited to the following:

• Employees' Pay: You can generally deduct the pay you give your employees for the services they perform for your business.
• Interest: Business interest expense is an amount charged for the use of money you borrowed for business activities.
• Retirement Plans: Retirement plans are savings plans that offer you tax advantages to set aside money for your own, and your employees', retirement.
• Rent Expense: Rent is any amount you pay for the use of property you do not own. In general, you can deduct rent as an expense only if the rent is for property you use in your trade or business. If you have or will receive equity in or title to the property, the rent is not deductible.
• Taxes: You can deduct various federal, state, local, and foreign taxes directly attributable to your trade or business as business expenses.
• Insurance: Generally, you can deduct the ordinary and necessary cost of insurance as a business expense, if it is for your trade, business, or profession.
• Business-Related Education: Such as seminars, classes, educational tapes or CDs and conventions.

For a clear and complete explanation of business expense deductions, refer to Business Expenses (IRS Publication 535).

Deducting Capital Expenses

There are two ways to deduct capital expenses. You can "depreciate" them by deducting a portion of the total cost each year over an asset's useful life; or you might be able to deduct the cost in one year as a Section 179 deduction.

Depreciation

If property you acquire to use in your business is expected to last more than one year, you generally cannot deduct the entire cost as a business expense in the year you acquire it. You must spread the cost over more than one tax year and deduct part of it each year on Form 1040, Schedule C. This method of deducting the cost of business property is called depreciation.

What property can be depreciated?

You can depreciate property if it meets all the following requirements.

• It must be property you own.
• It must be used in business or held to produce income. You never can depreciate inventory because it is not held for use in your business.
• It must have a useful life that extends substantially beyond the year it is placed in service.
• It must have a determinable useful life, which means that it must be something that wears out, decays, gets used up, becomes obsolete, or loses its value from natural causes. You never can depreciate the cost of land because land does not wear out, become obsolete, or get used up.
• It must not be excepted property. This includes property placed in service and disposed of in the same year.

Repairs

You cannot depreciate repairs and replacements that do not increase the value of your property, make it more useful, or lengthen its useful life..

Depreciation Method

The method for depreciating most business and investment property placed in service after 1986 is called the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS). .

Section 179 Deduction

Purchasing such things as office equipment and computer software would seem like ordinary and necessary expenses, however, the IRS considers these costs to be capital expenses. Unlike assets that are acquired for the production of income (such as investment property), Section 179 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service Code gives you the option to deduct the costs assets acquired for business use as expenses in the year you purchased the assets, instead of requiring them to be capitalized and depreciated. Eligible property is generally limited to tangible, depreciable property which is acquired for use in the active conducting of a trade or business. Section 179 deductions are subject to dollar amount and deductible limitations.

Listed property

You must follow special rules and recordkeeping requirements when depreciating listed property. Listed property is any of the following.

• Most passenger automobiles.
• Most other property used for transportation.
• Any property of a type generally used for entertainment, recreation, or amusement.
• Certain computers and related peripheral equipment.
• Any cellular telephone (or similar telecommunications equipment).

Amortization

Where depreciation allows you to deduct the cost of an asset over the asset's life, amortization is a method of deducting certain capital expenses over a fixed period of time. The IRS allows you to amortize costs associated with:

• Starting a Business, including the costs of researching a business idea and creating a legal entity
• Getting a Lease on Business Property
• Intangible Assets defined in Section 197 of U.S. Internal Revenue Service Code, including business licenses, permits, patents, trademarks, trade secrets, customer loyalty (goodwill); and the intangible value of physical items such as client lists and accounting and inventory records
• Oil and Gas Exploration
• Pollution Control Facilities
• Research and Experimentation

See also

• Taxes Hub
• Depreciation schedule

External links

• IRS Publication 525, Business Expenses, Amortization Secion

• Business Expenses (IRS Publication 535) - Deducting business and capital expenses

• Business Use of Your Home (IRS Publication 587)

• Travel, Entertainment, Gifts and Car Expenses (IRS Publication 463)

• How to Depreciate Property (IRS Publication 946}