If you run your own show, it’s important that you use the help of a professional. The saying goes that hiring a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) to do your taxes can pay for itself, because they find every deduction for you, not to mention making sure you have all your i’s and t’s dotted and crossed.
CPAs are licensed by the state , and in order to keep a license, they have to keep up with current tax laws . Regular accountants aren’t licensed. You can read more about why CPAs are helpful here.
If you don’t already have a CPA, you can always do some online searching, but call several offices to get a feel for your options.
When it comes to finding deductions, it’s your job to keep track of receipts and expenses. A CPA can help you pinpoint deductions, but if you don’t have documentation to back it up, you can’t claim them.
According to the Business Expenses document put out by the IRS (Publication 535), your business expenses must be ordinary and necessary in order to be deducted from your taxes.
An ordinary expense is a common or accepted expense in your industry. A necessary expense is one that’s helpful and appropriate for your business.
Second, anything you use for both home and business must be divided up into accurate percentages. For example, let’s say you have a home office that’s 200 square feet. If your entire home is 2,000 square feet, you can only deduct 10% of your mortgage payments, insurance, utilities, repairs, and so on.
All of the information found in the following checklist is taken from Publication 535. The checklist makes it easy to see a full overview of what you can deduct, but if you need more specifics on something, feel free to open that document, search for your keyword, and you’ll be able to find it quickly.
Note: Use Schedule C and Form 2106. The standard mileage rate for 2023 is 65.5 cents per mile. For 2024, it is 67 cents per mile.
Note: Use Schedule A. Any education that qualifies you for a new career won’t count — only continuing education will.
Note: Use Schedule A, Form 2106 and Form 1040. You can only deduct insurance if it’s for your business or if you’re self-employed. For homeowner’s insurance, you can deduct part of it based on the square footage of your home office.
Note: Use Form 2106. Half of the meals and entertainment tab can be deducted for business-related meals and entertainment. You must keep receipts, a note of who was entertained, and what the purpose of the meeting was. Note that if the meal is lavish or outrageously expensive, it will not count as a valid deduction.
Note: Use Form 8829, Schedule C, and Schedule A. For these deductions, you must divide the office space square footage by the square footage of the entire residence. Once you figure the percentage of your home that is solely for your business, you can calculate the deductions above.
Note: Use Schedule C. You must use your computer at least 50% for business.
It's difficult to remember to keep receipts for every single purchase. If you're just getting into the business or are self-admittedly not great at keeping track of your expenses, be sure to deduct some of the biggest business expenses you have.
It’s a good idea to keep track of your receipts now for next year’s tax season, but it can be a HUGE pain.
A lot of self-employed workers swear by the free app Evernote Scannable, which keeps track of your receipts. You simply take a picture of the receipt, and you can save it to your Google Drive, the Cloud, or whatever application works the best for you. Expensify is another popular option.
This can be a pain-free way to make sure you get the most money back on your taxes.
Also, consider using services that automate your deductions, such as MileIQ or TripLog for tracking mileage or a system like Xero for automating business expense reporting.
We always advise working with a tax professional to ensure you properly file your taxes. Use our cheat sheet as a guide to ensure you don't leave out any qualified expenses, but always consult with the experts!
The U.S. Small Business Administration also has a helpful website to assist you in paying your taxes appropriately.
If you want to take our tax deductions checklist with you, be sure to click on the image below. You can download a PDF of the checklist and check items off as you file your taxes in 2024.
