Schedule C Tax Tips: Are You Letting These 4 Myths Stop You From Taking The Home Office Deduction?

Posted by admin on September 28, 2009
Are you afraid to take advantage of the home office deduction? Perhaps you are the victim of one or more of these common tax myths. Unfortunately, many self-employed folks shy away from taking the home office deductions for at least one of the following four reasons. 1. Fear of an IRS audit. There’s been a rumor going around for years that the home office deduction increases the likelihood of an audit. I would love to know who started that rumor so I could give him a piece of my mind. For now, I’ll just be thankful that you are reading this article so I can tell you: don’t believe it! There is no basis for it. Treat the home office deduction like any other legitimate business expense: if you are entitled to take, by all means, take it. 2. Frustration over the record keeping requirements. Obviously, there are some numbers that must be compiled to take the home office deduction. For homeowners, they include the following: mortgage interest, real estate taxes, homeowner’s insurance, utilities (gas, electricity, water, trash removal, etc.) and repairs. The first two are usually reported to you on your lender’s annual Form 1098 statement. The utilities are easy to calculate by simply adding together your twelve monthly bills for each service provider; if you don’t have those bills, the amounts are just a phone call away to your friendly utility company. And home repairs are easily found by looking through your checkbook register and/or monthly credit card statements. For renters, there’s usually fewer numbers to crunch: the rent amount is the main figure, and I’m sure you know that without even looking it up. You also need any renter’s insurance or utilities you paid. 3.The belief that it’s not worth it. When you consider that there is likely hundreds or even thousands of dollars in tax savings at stake, don’t you think this is time well spent? If it takes you an hour to put this information together, and you save $500, where else can you make that much money in that amount of time? Sure, I know how much some people despise paperwork and number crunching. Maybe you prefer not to touch a calculator with a 10-foot pole. If that’s the case, hire an accountant to do your return and the extra tax savings from this deduction alone will likely more than cover the tax preparation fee. 4. A misunderstanding of the tax benefits. Have you ever heard a person say that he’s not taking the home office deduction because he’s already deducting mortgage interest and property taxes on Schedule A? Well, the next time you see your friend, dazzle him with this tax strategy wisdom: If you take the home office deduction, you not only reduce your income tax, but you are also reducing your self-employment (SE) tax. This is because the home office deduction reduces your Schedule C profit. For every $1,000 of home office expense, you are losing about $150 in SE tax savings.

Contemporary Office Furniture: Where Should You Buy It From?

Posted by admin on September 11, 2009

Are you a business owner or are you in charge of purchasing supplies for your company? If so, there is a good chance that the supplies you need to purchase will include office furniture. Where do you currently purchase your office furniture from? If you are like many other business owners, there is a good chance that you may make your purchases from a large, nationally known office supply store chain. Of course, there is nothing wrong with doing so, but you may want to rethink your decision. After all, there are a number of benefits to purchasing your office furniture from a small business; a small business that may be just like your own.

When it comes to purchasing office furniture, a large number of individuals search for contemporary office furniture. Contemporary is another word that is used describe modern. In this case, you may be searching for new, updated, and modern office furniture. Despite what you may believe or assume, a large number of small office furniture supply stores do carry contemporary office furniture. In fact, the selection of contemporary office furniture you have to choose from may even be more than you could have ever imagined.

As it was stated above, there are a number of benefits to purchasing your supplies from an office furniture supply store that is often considered a small business. One of those benefits is quality. Small business owners are often noted as giving their business and the products or services that they sell more attention, when compared to larger businesses or corporations. For you, this means that you are almost always guaranteed a quality product. Whether you are looking for an office desk or leather office chair, the piece of furniture in question was likely handpicked by the owner of the office furniture supply store.

In addition to quality products, there are a number of other benefits to purchasing your contemporary office furniture from a business that is often referred to as a small business. Another one of those benefits is service. Although most large businesses or corporations do have a customer service department, that customer service department is often made up of a large group of individuals; individuals who may be unfamiliar with the products or services that are being sold. When it comes to a small business, this same problem is often non-existent. With small businesses, you will find that they employee less individuals than most nationally run companies. This means that, when contacting a small office furniture supply store, there is a good chance that you may end up speaking with the same employee on multiple occasions. This may help to ease your fears of doing business with a new company and it also helps you to develop a business relationship with the company or employee in question.

In conjunction with the above mentioned service, you are also likely to receive more assistance when purchasing your contemporary office furniture from a small office furniture supply store. This assistance not only includes taking or verifying your order, but it may also include helping you choose the perfect pieces of contemporary office furniture for your office and your needs. For instance, do you or any of your employees have back problems? If so and you are looking to purchase a leather office chair, you may be wondering what type of leather office chair could help to combat your back problem or the other medical problems of your employees. Small business owners and employees are more likely to extend their assistance or professional advice than larger, national office furniture supply stores.

When it comes to purchasing contemporary office furniture for your office, the decision as to where you want to purchase your office furniture from is yours to make. However, as it was mentioned above, there are a number of benefits to doing business with a small business. If you are a small business owner, yourself, you may have a better understanding of these benefits. To purchase contemporary office furniture, such as a nice leather office chair, from a relatively small, but reliable office supply store, you are urged to examine OfficeDr.com. With a large selection of products and a trustworthy staff, you are sure to find all of the office furniture supplies that you need, all in one place.