You take a client out for a business lunch and when you get back to the office, you file the receipt away just like the IRS wants you to. Then, years down the road the IRS calls you down for an audit and asks you to produce your receipts. You go to your file and discover that the thermal paper receipts your favorite restaurants used have faded and are unreadable. The … [Read more...]
S corporations! Save money using income shifting
What’s the perfect gift for family and friends? Stock in your S corporation! That’s right. If you handle things correctly you can save over $6,000 in taxes (versus giving the same dollar-amount in cash.) Until recently, this income-splitting strategy only worked when you gave stock to adults. But because of provisions of the new Obamacare tax law, you now get a benefit … [Read more...]
How to get a tax deduction for your vacation home
Good news! Under IRS rules, your vacation home can avoid the dreaded “entertainment facility” disallowance rules. But you have to know exactly how to meet the law’s detailed requirements. In Part 4 of this series on entertainment-facilities, you’ll learn how to use the business-meeting and overnight-lodging rules to turn your cozy vacation home into a cozy tax-deductible … [Read more...]
Using your personal car for S corporation business
Here are four questions every S corporation business-owner needs to answer: Question #1: Is the vehicle you use for your S corporation business titled in your name? Question #2: Is the vehicle your spouse drives titled in her/his name? Question #3: Does your spouse use her/his personal vehicle for S corporation business? Question #4: If your vehicles are titled in your … [Read more...]
How to deduct a business trip (when it’s also personal!)
Here’s a question for you… If you drove a long distance to your parents’ home, but spent time doing business research in the library around the corner from their house, would the IRS consider the miles you drove to be “business miles” or “personal miles”? The answer can mean the difference between claiming a fat business deduction or having to pay all your expenses out of … [Read more...]