When you run your own business at home, you've got several things to consider, including marketing your core function and filing your income tax. Running a home business allows you to claim certain tax deductions to help you save some money. You can either hire professional tax accountants or choose to file your taxes on your own based on your personal choice, but a professional will be in a better position to help you maximise your tax deductions. This guide is designed to help you claim certain tax deductions when you run your own home business.
Travel-Related Expenses
Travel between your home and client meetings can be claimed as business travel expenses whether you use public or private transport. If you travel via public transport, you will need to record your tickets and receipts, while private transport requires you to record your fuel expenses. If your business is related to physical equipment, then you can claim the cost of transporting equipment because this is necessary for you to accomplish your job. For instance, a home-based plumber or electrician carrying repair equipment to a client's residence can claim for this travel-related expense.
Cost Of Professional Tools And Equipment
You can claim the cost of tools and equipment used for your home-based equipment for some or the entire cost. Depending on the cost of the equipment, you can either claim deduction for their entire cost or decline in value. For items costing $300 or less, you can claim an instant tax deduction for the entire cost. For items that cost above $300, you can claim a tax deduction for the value decline. Apart from equipment cost, you can also claim deductions on repair costs and the cost of insuring them. You can also claim the cost of running and procuring home devices like phones, laptops and printers after deducting the amount used for personal reasons. You can consult with your tax accountants to get a better understanding of what tools and equipment can be claimed as tax deduction for your specific business.
Work Clothing Expenses
If your home-based business requires you to purchase protective clothing or occupation-specific clothing, then you can claim this cost for tax deductions. You can also claim the cost of dry cleaning and laundry services. Make sure you save all your bills for all work-clothing-related expenses because you may be required to produce them if asked.
Self-Learning Expenses
If you take up a course related to your home-based profession, then you can claim tax deductions on course fees, course material, certification costs, professional journals, stationery and travel expenses to attend courses. Make sure you consider this option when filing your claim through tax accountants or on your own because many business owners overlook this tax deductible opportunity.
You can claim these tax deductions when you run your own home-business whether you go through tax accountants or on your own.
Share29 March 2016
If you want to thrive, you need to understand how money makes the world go 'round. Hi, my name is Martha, and I love writing about money. I used to work as a financial adviser, and now, I am launching a career as a day trader. In this blog, I want to share expert tips and advice for people who are interested in learning about money. I plan to write about everything from saving money, to investing money to understanding how it works. I invite you to explore my blog, and if these tips and ideas help you, please share my posts. Thank you for reading!