It’s that time of year again! The self-employed estimated tax deadline for the 3rd quarter has arrived. But don’t fret – between our QuickBooks and TurboTax communities, we have an arsenal of support and resources for you self-employed pros out there to get you filing in no time.
Here are a few last minute things for you or the self-employed folks in your life to know, to feel prepared, confident, and empowered to handle taxes like the pros you are.
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1. Home Offices
Do you work at home? Working from your house can help you maximize your write-offs. If you regularly, and exclusively, use a home office for the purpose of your business, you can claim tax deductions on that space.
Expenses that may be deducted include a portion of real estate taxes, mortgage interest, rent, utilities, insurance, painting, and repairs based on the square footage of your home used for your business.
2. Vehicles
Are you using your car to get to and from work? If you’re self-employed and driving to see a client, heading to a meeting, or going to work from another location, make sure you write down how far you drove.
You can claim 54.5 cents per mile for 2019, plus the cost of parking and any tolls you paid. Be sure to track your business mileage so that you have substantiation for your mileage deduction.
3. Business Trips
Do you travel a lot for work? Good news, if you’re flying to another U.S. city and making the trip primarily for business you can deduct 100 percent of the cost.
On top of that, if you’re traveling for work, you can also expense your hotel or lodging and 50 percent of your meals, though this can only be deducted for the days you’re spending on business. Yay business trips!
4. Kids
Do your kids help you out on the job? If you pay your kids, you can deduct the amount you are paying them. A child’s tax rate is generally much lower than yours.
5. Legal and professional fees
A good way to keep your business on track is by having advisors offer professional help. Seek out attorneys and accountants to make sure all your finances and business operations are running smoothly.
Good to note – you can deduct legal and professional fees that are ordinary, necessary, and relate to your business.