Items you can legitimately deduct from your taxes

Items you can legitimately deduct from your taxes

We pay for everything. Sometimes it may seem like life is too expensive to live.  We have our personal expenses, business expenses, and then on April 15 we have to pay taxes to the government. What if you could save money on those tax forms?  It’s possible to find legitimate tax write-offs that will intersect both personal and business expenses to help you save money each year!

Figuring out what you can write-off isn’t that simple.  There isn’t a master list included in the Internal Revenue Code or provided by the IRS.  But, there is a tax principle in Code Section 62 that states that a valid tax write-off can be any expense incurred in the production of income and each deduction has its own rules.

To find these legitimate write-offs, you should think above your Adjusted Gross Income line, which is the number in the bottom right-hand corner on the front page of your tax-return.  Thinking above the line means to constantly try to think of any and all personal expenses that may have a had a purpose for your moving business.  Because you own a moving company, you can probably convert some personal expenses to business expenses as long as there was some sort of business purpose for that expense.

If you keep good records, you can easily find expenses with legitimate business purpose.  After a while, it will become habit and it will be almost impossible to buy something without thinking of a tax purpose.

The following list has 75 possible tax deductions for business owners.  Not every one of these is always a legitimate write-off and this is not an exhausted list, either.  Each deduction needs to be analyzed, for example, you can only deduct entertainment expenses if you are entertaining a client or employee.  In order to keep track of the “difference” between business and personal expenses, don’t just collect receipts.  Write the reason for that purchase/service/expense, and try to relate it to business.

Now, you want to make sure you only take legitimate deductions in order to avoid an audit, but you can possibly make all of the following expenses legitimate deductions.

  • Advertising
  • Amortization
  • Auto expenses
  • Bad debts that you cannot collect
  • Banking fees
  • Board meetings
  • Building repairs and maintenance
  • Business association membership dues
  • Business travel
  • Cafeteria health-insurance plan (requires plan)
  • Charitable deductions made for a business purpose
  • Cleaning/janitorial services
  • Collection Expenses
  • Commissions to outside parties
  • Computers and tech supplies
  • Consulting fees
  • Continuing education for yourself to maintain licensing and improve skillsl
  • Conventions and trade shows
  • Costs of goods sold
  • Credit card convenience fees
  • Depreciation
  • Dining during business travel
  • Discounts to customers
  • Education and training for employees (new)
  • Employee wages
  • Entertainment for customers and clients
  • Equipment
  • Equipment repairs
  • Exhibits for publicity
  • Family members’ wages
  • Franchise fees (new)
  • Freight or shipping costs
  • Furniture or fixtures
  • Gifts for customers ($25 deduction limit for each)
  • Group insurance (if qualifying)
  • Health insurance
  • Home office
  • Interest
  • Internet hosting and services
  • Investment advice and fees
  • Legal fees
  • License fees
  • Losses due to theft
  • Management fees
  • Materials
  • Maintenance
  • Medical expenses (with plan)
  • Mortgage interest on business property
  • Moving
  • Newspapers and magazines
  • Office supplies and expenses
  • Outside services
  • Payroll taxes for employees, including Social Security, Medicare taxes and unemployment taxes
  • Parking and tolls
  • Pension plans
  • Postage
  • Publicity
  • Prizes for contests
  • Real estate-related expenses
  • Rebates on sales
  • Rent
  • Research and development
  • Retirement plans
  • Royalties
  • Safe-deposit box
  • Safe
  • Software and online services
  • Storage rental
  • Subcontractors
  • Taxes
  • Telephone
  • Utilities
  • Website design
  • Workers’ compensation insurance