Category: Business Taxes

Do You Qualify for a Home Office Deduction?

If you worked from home pre-COVID or have landed a home office job since quarantine, you may be wondering if you qualify for a home office deduction on your taxes. Tax season will be here before we know it, so it’s not too soon to be thinking about these types of deductions.

The answer is maybe. Eligibility rules can be confusing, but here are some boxes you need to check to qualify:

You’re NOT a W-2 employee

Being a W-2 employee means you work for someone else who withholds income, Medicare taxes and Social Security from your paycheck. W-2 employees are NOT eligible for home office deductions.

If you are self-employed, a contract worker/freelancer, or are a 1099 employee, you may qualify for this deduction.

You have a designated workspace

The IRS says home office expenses can be deducted when the home office space is used exclusively for conducting business. A spare bedroom, room, or a nook in your basement would count. It doesn’t have to be a completely separate room and you don’t need to construct permanent partitions, but it does need to be a “separately identifiable space.” Consider arranging furniture to mark your office boundaries, or use a panel room divider, a bookcase or even a curtain.

Your space is used regularly and exclusively for work

In order to qualify, the space must be regularly used for business, and not a shared space for your personal tasks. That rules out your kitchen table. Spaces that are used only occasionally or incidentally for business don’t count either.

It’s your principal place of business

If you meet with patients, clients or customers outside of your home, your home office could still qualify if you use the space exclusively and regularly for invoicing, scheduling and other business-related tasks.

A freestanding structure on your property could also be a deduction if you have a studio, garage or barn that you work out of. If you use part of a large room in your home as your dedicated workspace you could deduct it if you figured out the percentage of your home this space accounts for.

You can calculate your home office deduction using the regular method or the simplified method.

The regular method considers the actual expenses of your home office — such as mortgage interest, insurance, repairs, depreciation, insurance and utilities — as a percentage of your whole house. The simplified option allows the qualified taxpayer to determine actual expenses by multiplying a prescribed rate by the square footage of the office space.

Donohoo Accounting Services knows that determining your eligibility for a home office deduction is confusing. We are here to help you understand the IRS rules, how they apply to you and which calculation method to use. With more than 20 years of experience in the business, we can help you find every deduction possible to reduce your tax burden. Give us a call today at 513-528-3982 for a free consultation.

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Year-End Tax Moves To Make Now

Most people don’t think about taxes when it’s not tax season, but you absolutely should. 2020 has been unusual in every way, and the upcoming tax season will likely follow suit because there are tax moves you can make before the end of this year that will benefit you once you file. Here are a few that we suggest:

Track receipts

If you are self-employed and working from home, you can deduct your office space (it has to be used just for work) and any expenses you incur. If your income was lower than usual but your medical expenses were higher, you might qualify for deduction. Best practice for 2020? Save your receipts.

Don’t forget about other taxable income

Many people were furloughed or lost their jobs this year because of the stay-at-home order. If you picked up a side hustle to make ends meet, your earnings are considered taxable income, even if you don’t have official paperwork that details the money. Unemployment benefits are taxable, too. If you received any of those, you’ll have to fill out a 1099-G form and enter those amounts on your tax return. If withholdings weren’t taken out of those payments, you’ll have to make up for it when calculating your 2020 estimated tax payments.

Max out for retirement

If your income went up this year, it’s the perfect opportunity to reduce your tax liability by increasing your contribution to your retirement account.

Conversely, if your income went down and you had to borrow from your retirement account, you won’t pay penalties but you will have to account for that on your taxes for the next three years.

Make the most of your savings

If the stay-at-home order resulted in prepaid vacation refunds, fewer travel expenses or less spending in general, you may find yourself with a slightly larger wallet. If that’s the case, make the most of that money by investing it now in a long-term savings account, such as a 529 or Roth IRA.

Check your withholdings

If your income has changed, check your paycheck to make sure you are withholding enough for federal taxes to avoid penalties and interest to the IRS. The IRS has a tool to help you do this, but you will have to manually calculate it for your state withholdings.

Revisit your stimulus eligibility

If your income decreased in 2020, you might qualify for the stimulus payment made available from the CARES act, even if you didn’t qualify in 2019 or 2018. There will likely be extra documentation to fill out with the IRS Form 1040. The credit will automatically be applied if you are eligible.

We understand that tax filing can be overwhelming in the most normal of situations, so it will be especially challenging when filing for this year. We also know you have a life to lead and business to run, so let us handle your accounting issues and headaches. If you have any questions about what you should be doing now for the upcoming tax season, please reach out to Donohoo Accounting Services today at 513-528-3982 for a free consultation.

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Tips To Get The Most Tax Deductions For Your Business

What could be difficult about filing your business’s 2019 income tax return? Plenty. Not to worry though, Donohoo Accounting Services is here to help! Every business has unique needs and you’ll need an experienced professional to help find all your deductions, but here are some tips about the three kinds of records your accountant will definitely need.

Income/Earnings Records

Because most businesses use electronic means to capture every transaction of the sale of goods or services, income records should be easy – though perhaps voluminous – to collect. Be sure to review your business’s income records, however, to look for any obvious errors such as missing information. Complete income records should include:

  • The gross amount of each individual sale,
  • Any returns or discounts credited against your business’s income,
  • Interest earned from business bank accounts (from your year-end bank statement or Form 1099-INT) and,
  • Any other income from non-sales sources.

Documentation of Expenses

Perhaps the most documentation required for your business tax filing falls into the category of expenses. You must account for more than a dozen different kinds of expenses on your tax form. These include all employee wages, rent or lease payments (including vehicle leases), insurance, travel, office supplies, and advertising and communications (such as telephone, fax and Internet).

Additionally, within these expense categories, there are sub-categories. Be sure to consult with a tax professional for a complete list of expense categories to be sure you don’t overlook any potential deductions.

Inventory Details

If your business maintains a physical inventory of goods, you will need to have documentation of your inventory totals at the beginning and end of the year along with its dollar value. As well, be sure you also have records of any inventory purchased over the course of the year. Remember to account for any inventory items that were used for business or personal needs, and the value of any supplies or materials on-hand that were purchased to operate the business.

For businesses that track inventory electronically, these records should be easy to access. But again, remember to check – and correct – any errors or irregularities between your inventory records and your actual physical inventory.

Additionally, some forms of taxable business income now have a lower rate, thanks to a new deduction for qualified business income (QBI) worth up to 20 percent. Be sure to check out the details in our blog.

The professionals at Donohoo Accounting Services have been helping small businesses file annual tax returns for more than 20 years. For a free consultation, call Donohoo Accounting today at 513-528-3982. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for our latest updates and tips!

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5 Tips for Claiming the Qualified Business Income Deduction

Some forms of taxable business income now have a lower rate, thanks to a new deduction for qualified business income (QBI). If you like the thought of paying tax on 20 percent less of certain kinds of business income, be sure to follow these five tips:

Qualifying Income

Only individuals and business owners with certain kinds of income are able to claim this new QBI deduction (also known as the Section 199A deduction). The QBI deduction may allow you to reduce your taxable business income by 20 percent if it’s earned by a domestic business that is operating as:

  • an individual,
  • sole proprietorship,
  • partnership,
  • S corporation,
  • real estate investment trust (REIT),
  • publicly traded partnership (PTP), or
  • some types of trusts and estates.

Income paid to you as an employee and income from C corporations is not eligible income for the QBI deduction. 

Income That Does Not Qualify

Qualified forms of income, minus deductions and losses, total your QBI. Wage income, as well as a dozen other varieties of income, do not figure into your QBI. A tax professional can walk you through the list of income types that do not count toward QBI.

 The Deduction’s Limitations

The 20 percent QBI deduction is only available to certain types of trades and businesses and allowable only under defined income levels. For example, domestic trades or businesses operating as sole proprietorships, partnerships, S corporations, trusts or estates with taxable income at or below $157,500 for those filing as individuals ($315,000 for a married couple filing a joint return), including the unadjusted basis immediately after acquisition (UBIA) of qualified property held by the trade or business. Other limits may also apply. Your tax professional can help you decide which ones apply to your situation. Itemizing your deductions by using Schedule A, or taking the standard deduction, does not affect your ability to claim the QBI deduction.

Trades or Businesses That Qualify

Any trade or business listed under Internal Revenue Code Section 162 qualifies except for three kinds:

  • Those conducted by a C corporation,
  • Performing services as an employee, or
  • A specified services trade or business (SSTB), one that relies upon an individual’s endorsement, likeness, voice, or identity (within certain industries) where the principal asset is the reputation or skill of at least one of its employees or owners. There are exceptions, however. IRS Publication 535 provides additional details about qualifying businesses.

Computing the QBI Deduction

Publication 535 also contains worksheets to help you compute the QBI deduction. In some cases, the Form 1040 instructions will be appropriate to guide you through the computation. Have a tax professional help you decide which method is right for your business. Donohoo Accounting is prepared to answer your questions and find the most deductions that apply to your particular business. Talk with one of our specialists or schedule an appointment today by calling 513-528-3982 or email us. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn for our latest tips and updates!

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