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taxes

October 21, 2013 12:54AM
Oh dear, I was hoping that if I just ignored taxes they would just go away. But I started to read the forum on taxes.


From the sticky from flash: There are shops to be done at Costco that require a Costco membership. When my membership is up for renewal, I renew when I next go for a shop and list it as an unreimbursed business expense of that job because I have no way of knowing if that shop will ever be available to me again.

Is this true? Couldn't you argue by extension a bunch of things like some shops need a Cadillac so that is an expense? Or you need a plane ticket to get behind security?

Also, I am studying taxes now b/c this mystery shopping gig just might not work out. The IRS has new simplified rules for home offices some of you might be interested in. [www.irs.gov]
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More About Mystery Shopping Taxes
October 21, 2013 01:59AM
Check with your own tax advisor. As a general rule, IIRC Accounting 101, if the membership was exclusively so you could do shops at Costco, then it would be deductible. But you'd better be able to prove it beyond any doubt. Go ahead and get the membership and save the few cents on gas and don't worry about the rest.

You can enter Costco without a membership [ditto any of the warehouse clubs] if you say you are going to the pharmacy. At Costco, buy something at the snack bar because there you don't need to show your membership card, and the receipt gives you the POV.

.
Have PV-500 & willing to travel.
"Answers are easy. It's asking the right questions which is hard." (The Fourth Doctor, The Face of Evil, 1977)

"Somedays you're the pigeon, somedays you're the statue.” J. Andrew Taylor

"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him." Galileo Galilei
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October 21, 2013 12:19PM
My dear friend James is absolutely correct. If you do your regular shopping at Costco the subscription is not deductible. Now if I signed up with Costco to do a shop it would be wholly deductible because I do not shop there for personal use.
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October 21, 2013 10:09PM
How would the IRS be able to prove that you went into Costco for a reason other than doing a shop? If you are doing multiple shops at Costco for mystery shopping, and go in a few other times in the year, I don't see how that would be considered a problem in claiming your membership expenses as a business expense.....? I'm no tax expert of course but I would think the IRS has far better things to do with their time than slap an audit on someone who claimed $50 for Costco....

ShopperShel

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October 21, 2013 10:18PM
I've been through an IRS audit. Once is enough...and I'm not sure I would wish it on my worst enemy. Being in the position of having to "prove" not just beyond a reasonable doubt, but beyond all doubt...it really puts a different perspective on it. If you're that desperate for the $50 deduction of the membership free, then perhaps you should be reconsidering whether mystery shopping is the right career for you.

Also, with the Gesta...er IRS, they don't have to prove. The burden of proof in an audit is on you.

.
Have PV-500 & willing to travel.
"Answers are easy. It's asking the right questions which is hard." (The Fourth Doctor, The Face of Evil, 1977)

"Somedays you're the pigeon, somedays you're the statue.” J. Andrew Taylor

"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him." Galileo Galilei
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October 21, 2013 10:36PM
It all depends on your tolerance for risk.
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October 23, 2013 03:01AM
It would be so easy for the IRS to prove that you did not use it for business purposes only. With your membership number, they can get your whole transaction history. Any thing does not match up and they have their proof. Whether they would bother is a different story.
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