@SoCalMama wrote:
I print out my entire year of PayPal payments. It's really helpful to tally up all of the "under $600" companies that way.
Less than 30.@JASFLALMT wrote:
How many sheets of paper is that?!!!
@SoCalMama wrote:
I print out my entire year of PayPal payments. It's really helpful to tally up all of the "under $600" companies that way.
@SteveSoCal wrote:
@Flash, isn't their a second method where you can claim all income, including reimbursements, and then deduct all of them back off as expenses before calculating the business income?
I have always avoided that since my reimbursements are so high, I figured it would be a red flag.
I have been using the H&R Block software for about 20 years now and know it well, and it clearly walks you through the Schedule C if you have the small business version. I'm always shocked the people will take their taxes to part-time preparers instead of just investing a little into the software.
@SteveSoCal wrote:
@Flash, isn't their a second method where you can claim all income, including reimbursements, and then deduct all of them back off as expenses before calculating the business income?
I have always avoided that since my reimbursements are so high, I figured it would be a red flag.
I have been using the H&R Block software for about 20 years now and know it well, and it clearly walks you through the Schedule C if you have the small business version. I'm always shocked the people will take their taxes to part-time preparers instead of just investing a little into the software.
@myst4au wrote:
If you really think that you need someone to prepare your taxes, then go to a real CPA, not to the pop-up offices of H&R Block and their ilk.
@nolimitem wrote:
She did. She told me in 2019 I couldn't deduct reimbursements as a business expense. She was a "senior" tax preparer in all ways. It was $450 for them to do them. I'm fine paying but not if they're wrong. Also I clearly had my spreadsheet and all my receipts as verification. I was prepared. They were not.
@SteveSoCal wrote:
Agreed! I have always prepared my own taxes because I like to understand the laws and my income streams/deductions, but I also have an accountant that answers questions for me as needed. The accountant has been great for helping me make decisions about how to represent my different businesses.
@Flash wrote:
@SteveSoCal wrote:
Did you know, for instance, that if the custodian for your IRA charges an annual fee for managing your account that the fee is deductible if you pay the fee with funds from OUTSIDE the IRA but that it is not deductible if you allow the fee to be taken from the IRA itself?
Yes, I did.
Did you know that if you own a rental house and the agreement with the tenant is that they will mow and keep the bushes trimmed that IRS considers their 'lawn service' to be income from the property just as their rent is? If it would have cost you $2000 per year to provide lawn service and their rent is $12000 per year, your 'income' from the property needs to be stated as $14000?
I did not know that, but it makes sense since it would be an imputed income.
Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008
@walesmaven wrote:
I learned to do peraonl income and business taxes at my mother's knee, and using pencil, paper and adding and subtracting "by hand." BUT, I also learned to read the tax publications and to call in a pro when it comes to more arcane matters.
The first thing that I did, when teaching myself to use Lotus 1-2-3, was to see if I could recreate Schedule C and the Form 1040 and connect them, lol. (It worked, btw).
For two years, when I first had income property, self-employment income, 1099 income AND investments besides and IRA (1981-1982) and again for the first year that I had a small business corporation (1992?) I used a CPA who specialized in small businesses to set up my record-keeping systems and check my tax forms (after I filled them out.) After that I read, read, read, IRS publications and, eventually tried out 2 different tax prep programs. In 10+ years of using Turbo Tax, no issues whatsoever. But, I still need to drill down into at least one arcane portion of an IRS bulletin each tax season, just to be safe.