You came up with a great idea for a business and kicked it off without a hitch. What was once an extra bedroom downstairs is now a bustling hub of activity. After three or four years, you are on your way to expansion and even thinking about hiring a few employees to help you out. Life could not be more grand.
Then the bottom drops out of your joy when you din that for all of these years, you have not properly filed any of the home based business taxes and you are about to be audited for that.
Before you get started with a business of any kind, it is important to fully understand how the tax laws will affect you. There are many aspects of the home based business taxes that differ from situation to situation- and there are a number of deductions that you can take that will keep the amount you need to pay to a minimum.
Don’t assume that because you don’t make a lot of money from your business, especially in the beginning that you are totally absolved from paying home based business taxes at all, but if you are diligent about your record keeping efforts as well as careful about looking for deductions, you can minimize the bite.
If you are knowledgeable about doing taxes and keeping records, you may be able to handle home based business taxes on your own, however, because they are so complex and so busy, you might consider having an accountant handle them for at least the first few years of your business’ existence.
There are exceptions for who will have to pay home based business taxes, however, those exceptions may not apply after certain conditions are met. And, just because you run a business that is technically subsidized by the government, such as a childcare, that does not absolve you from the need to pay these taxes- you are still taxed on the income which is generated by the subsidized payments. It can all seem very confusing and a little frustrating, but it is the law.
Some of the expenses generated by your business can be used as deductions for your home based business taxes. For instance, some of the cost of maintaining your home, which is now your professional work space may be considered a legal deduction. You can also use the cost of part of your electricity, heat and other daily expenses in certain situations. Before you go making a million deductions on your tax form, make sure they are actually a legal deduction to take and that you are rightfully incurring these expenses in the course of running your home based business.
For those who use the Internet to perform their work, the cost of their Internet service and up keep of their computer may be considered to be a viable deduction on their home based business taxes as well. Again, check before taking these deductions on your form.