Biz Owners: Should You Deduct Your Home Office?

by @BenitaTyler, TBS USA Accounting and Tax Advisory

If you use a portion of your home for business purposes, you may be able to take a home office deduction whether you are self-employed or an employee. Expenses that you may be able to deduct include the business portion of real estate taxes, mortgage interest, rent, utilities, insurance, depreciation, painting, and repairs.

You can claim this deduction for the business use of a part of your home only if you use that part of your home regularly and exclusively:

• as your principal place of business for any trade or business, or

  
  
• as a place to meet or deal with your patients, clients, or customers in the normal course of your trade or business.

  
  

Generally, the amount you can deduct depends on the percentage of your home that you use for business. Your deduction will be limited if your gross income from your business is less than your total business expenses.

If you use a separate structure not attached to your home for an exclusive and regular part of your business, you can deduct expenses related to it.

The rules vary depending on whether you're self-employed, a qualified daycare provider, or storing business inventory or product samples. If you are an employee, you have additional requirements to meet. The regular and exclusive business use must be for the convenience of your employer. 

Want more advice on your accounting and tax issues? TBS USA is a national tax, accounting and business consultancy available to answer your questions!  Visit www.tbsusa.com today!

Do you deduct your home office annually? How has it benefited you?

@DorethiaConner

www.connercoaching.com

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Biz Owners & The Graphic/Web Designer Blues....

So... you have a major campaign launching tomorrow that you are pretty excited about, one last look at your site and ERROR!!! Utter horror sets in and frantically you call, email, text your designer. No answer.  A couple hours later you get a call, email, text that they are busy and might get to you by the end of the day. MORE HORROR. 

It's time to update your business cards, press kit, e-blast - the works. Time for a fresh look. You decide to call a graphic designer who does great work and asked to design for you in past - they are elated you chose them. You meet, outline your needs, and bada-boom, bada-bing, they promise to get to work. THAT was four weeks ago. Each call, email, text is met with an apology and a promise to have your materials by this or that due date. NOT!  

Those fancy-dancy Facebook 'Welcome' tabs everyone has now are so    cool - you decide you want one too! You shop around, think you found a great 'guy' who does them, promises it will take no time at all. The work he's done in the past looks snazzy, so you sign up too! Turns out, maybe those weren't exactly tabs HE created and the one he does for you isn't anything you want others to see. #FAIL

We've also noticed that with some web designers it seems as if they want to do the big jobs, but not the minute details once the largest portion is complete. You know - moving a box, changing colors. Once the project is done you always need ongoing maintenance. And YES, even when this is in the written agreement, you may be made to feel as if you are a hassle to your designer instead of a valued customer.

Now, before everyone starts waving their fingers saying - ' you pay for what you get, these must have been low budget designers.' UH NO! My friends and I have this discussion all the time about our troubles with graphic/web designers who do great work, but are slow or have horrible customer service.  Oh, and some may show a great portfolio, but .. er.. your finished project is anything but great.

We haven't come up with a complete solution - other than to keep shopping around until you hit the jackpot. Some of us have and are pleased with our designers, others, well, we hear their stories when we meet up at the Biggby Coffee Shop! 

Do you have any tips? Have you had great success with your designer? Shout 'em out!! They deserve it! 

@DorethiaConner

www.connercoaching.com

Follow @MoneyChatLive and Join us for #MoneyChat every Monday night on Twitter from 8-9p ET!