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BARBARA WELTMAN is an attorney and a nationally recognized expert in taxation for small businesses, as well as the author of many top-selling books on taxes and finance, including J.K. Lasser's Small Business Taxes and J.K. Lasser's 1001 Deductions and Tax Breaks. She is also the publisher of Idea of the Day®, a guest columnist for WSJ.com and contributor to SBA.gov, and is quoted regularly in major publications (including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and USA News). Visit her at www.BigIdeasforSmallBusiness.com.
Preface ix
Introduction xi
Part 1 Self-Employment Basics 1
1. Being Self-Employed and On Your Own 3
What Does Self-Employment Mean? 4
Legal Consequences of Self-Employment 6
Practical Issues in Self-Employment 7
Tax Terminology 8
Being 1099ed 9
What's Ahead 9
2. Getting Set Up for Tax Reporting and Business Operations 11
Preliminaries 12
Keeping Books and Records for Tax Reporting 12
Business Reasons for Recordkeeping 14
Tax ID Number 14
Tax Year 17
Accounting Method 17
Decide Your Business Name 20
What's Your IP? 21
Obtain Licenses, Permits, and Permission 23
What's Ahead 24
3. Using Schedule C 25
Tax Filing on Schedule C 25
When, Where, and How to File 30
What's Ahead 31
Part 2 Reporting Income and Expenses 33
4. Reporting Your Income 35
Payment Types Don't Matter 36
Alternative Payments 38
Where to Report Payments 39
What to Do about 1099s 40
What to Do When You Don't Get Paid 42
Losses 43
What's Ahead 46
5. Writing Off Vehicle, Travel, Meals, and Gifts Expenses 49
Vehicle Expenses 50
Local Transportation 56
Business Meals 56
Business Travel 59
Business Gifts 61
Strategies for Saving on Travel Costs 61
What's Ahead 62
6. Deducting Office-Related Costs 65
Rental Expenses 65
Home Office Use 68
Materials and Supplies 79
Furniture and Fixtures 80
Computer-Related Costs 84
Insurance 86
Utilities 86
Miscellaneous Office-Related Costs 87
What's Ahead 88
7. Claiming Deductions A to Z 89
Advertising Costs 90
Bad Debts 91
Banking Fees 92
Casualty and Theft Losses 92
Charitable Contributions 93
Dues 95
Education Expenses 96
Impairment-Related Expenses 96
Interest 97
Legal and Professional Fees 98
Licenses and Regulatory Fees 99
Materials and Supplies 99
Moving Expenses 99
Payments for Outsourced Workers 100
Penalties, Fines, and Damages 101
Repayment of Income 102
Startup Costs 102
Subscriptions 103
Supplies 103
Taxes 103
Utilities 104
Checklist of Nondeductible Expenses 104
What's Ahead 105
8. Protecting Yourself with Medical Coverage and Retirement Savings 107
Medical Insurance 108
Health Savings Accounts 111
Tax Deduction for Health Coverage 113
Retirement Savings 114
SEPs 116
Solo 401(k)s 118
Pension Plans 121
IRAs 121
Roth IRAs 122
Strategies for Retirement Savings 123
What's Ahead 124
9. Taking Tax Credits 127
Business-Related Tax Credit 127
Personal Credits Arising from Business 130
What's Ahead 134
10. Claiming Your Tax Bonus 137
General Rules 137
Limitations 138
Specified Service Trades or Businesses 139
What's Ahead 140
Part 3 Strategies for Your Business 141
11. Paying Your Taxes 143
Self-Employment Tax 143
Additional Medicare Tax on Earned Income 146
Additional Medicare Tax on Net Investment Income 147
Estimated Taxes 148
Sales Taxes 152
What's Ahead 153
12. Strategizing Year-Round for Tax Savings 155
Tax-Savvy Business Decisions 156
Year-End Planning 158
Post-Year Tax Elections 160
Lease Instead of Buy? 161
Don't Overlook Carryovers 162
Audit-Proof Your Return 163
What's Ahead 165
13. Strategies for How to Grow 167
Getting Certified 167
Getting a Mentor 168
Outsourcing 169
Using Technology 170
Continuing to Learn 170
What's Ahead 171
14. Strategies as Your Business Grows 173
Moving to Larger Quarters 173
Hiring Employees 175
Changing Legal Status 178
Selling the Business 180
Final Thoughts 181
Index 182
