Celia Therapy

Getting Deductions for Your Business ExpensesEveryone knows that when it comes to taxes, paying them for income earned on a home business can be brutal. After all, there is no company there to help you pay your Social Security taxes and your income taxes. The good news is that there are some expenses related to your home business
 that you can deduct. The process can be kind of a pain, but if you make sure you have all of the proper forms, you can successfully get your deductions figured out and keep more of your money. If you keep good records, you can take them to a tax professional (deductible on your home business records, but not for other income), or purchase some software to help you sort it all out.The trickiest part of the business is figuring out the deductions for items you use for both business and personal use. Computers, Internet connection, and cars are all among these tricky items. You will be required to estimate about how much of the time such items are used for business. This means that you will need to pay close attention to how much of the time your computer is used so that you can pro-rate it correctly. This is usually expressed as a percentage (My computer is used 80% of the time for my home business). Cars are a little easier to figure out, when it comes to mileage. There is also a way to figure monthly car payments into the deduction, based on how much of the time the car is used for business. For mileage, all you have to do is keep track of mileage spent when you are using the car for work. When I have to travel for a freelance assignment, I keep track of my mileage for tax purposes.Health insurance can be deducted if you are not getting it through someone else’s company. If you want to deduct a private insurance plan, it needs to be set up through the home business. Since I am a sole proprietor, I set up our plan (about $250 per month) through my name and have my husband and son listed on my plan, since my husband is not offered health insurance through his work. Health insurance can only be deducted if you have it set up through your business.