HOME BUSINESS TAX DEDUCTIONS: Keep What You Earn [Paperback]

Stephen Fishman J.D. (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1413309070 | ISBN-13: 978-1413309072 | Publication Date: December 8, 2008 | Edition: 5

Keep your hard-earned money in your home business!

Completely updated for 2008 returns

Tax deductions are essential to any business, but even more so when your office is also your home. Don't spend thousands on an accountant --turn to Home Business Tax Deductions and do it yourself!

Home Business Tax Deductions will help you write off:

your home office

start-up and operating expenses

vehicles and travel

entertainment and meals

health insurance and medical bills

inventory

equipment

The 5th edition is completely updated with all the latest tax information, eligibility requirements and deductions for 2008 returns. Home Business Tax Deductions also covers how to avoid being classified as a hobby business, steer clear of home-business tax scams, stay out of trouble with the IRS and take special deductions if your business loses money. (20090101)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Whether you're going to start or have already started your business, you need this book. (Paul Tulenko 20090101)

Full of exactly the sort of tips that business owners usually turn to their accountants for... (Accounting Today 20090101)

Translates complicated tax-law jargon into words you can understand and apply to your home-based business without hiring a CPA.... (Cleveland Plain Dealer 20090101)

Explains how owners of home-based businesses can take advantage of tax deductions such as office costs, health insurance, entertainment and meals, and startup and operating expenses. (Reference & Research Book News )

Very strongly recommended... simply outstanding business instructional guide... (The Bookwatch )

Review

"Translates complicated tax-law jargon into words you can understand and apply to your home-based business without hiring a CPA...."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: NOLO; 5 edition (December 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1413309070
• ISBN-13: 978-1413309072
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,053,091 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen Fishman is the author of many Nolo books, including Tax Deductions for Professionals. Other titles include Deduct It! Lower Your Small Business Taxes, Every Landlord's Tax Deduction Guide and Home Business Tax Deductions: Keep What You Earn--plus many other legal and business books. He received his law degree from the University of Southern California in 1979. After time in government and private practice, he became a full-time legal writer in 1983.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding - more than paid for itself., September 24, 2004

By 

James May "creative, dedicated eccentric" (Lometa, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Home Business Tax Deductions: keep What you Earn (Paperback)

I wish I'd had this before I started my business. Plain english explanations and chock full of good tips. This book more than paid for itself the first day!

If you are starting a business in your home, you NEED this book. Especially if you find TAX laws confusing this will be an immense help. Preferably read it before you officially start. It will save you a bundle.

Indexing is excellent; very easy to find what you want and the explanations are clear and concise.

Definetly recommended.

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Written Rules and the Real Rules in Plain English, November 7, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Home Business Tax Deductions: Keep What You Earn 2nd Edition (Paperback)

This book starts off with a very good description of what this book is all about: John and Jane both gross $50,000 a year. John gets $40,000 after taxes, Jane gets $45,000. The difference - John works for someone and goes into work. Jane works at home and gets to deduct her home office expenses.

The IRS allows you to deduct your expenses of maintaining a home office. At the same time, the IRS rules are fairly comples, and home office expenses are often overstated or subject to outright fraud. So the IRS tends to look at them fairly carefully, they have been known to come to your house to see what your office looks like.

This book, updated to be current for 2006, explains the rules as written down, the rules as actually followed and gives you some tips as to what you should, shouldn't, must, and mustn't do. Beyond the official rules, which are messy enough, there are more or less unknown rules, i.e. computer software that you buy is written off one way (well actually two or three ways), software you create, either for yourself or for sale, is handled quite differently.

This book is well written, simple to read and up to date with current law.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great help for Schedule C and 8829, January 11, 2007

By 

Traveler (New England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Home Business Tax Deductions: Keep What You Earn (Paperback)

I'm working on my schedule C and 8829 and every so often I get to a question I don't understand. I go to the IRS instructions and their web site and it's as clear as used motor oil. It's enough to drive you insane.

Picked up this book and it's spelled out in plain English. No need to read a passage five times to understand.

As others have stated, you need this BEFORE you start your business and you need it a year before you do your taxes. In other words, it will help you along with your 2006 return and you can learn from it on how to do a better job for 2007 by keeping the right documents and receipts in order to get even bigger legitimate deductions. I know I wish I'd had this book last year!

With that said, this is not a line-by-line assistant for Schedule C and the 8829 which I wish it was at times. There are just times when the IRS uses a specific term on a specific line and it would help to have a layman's definition at hand. I didn't get that with this book. Nonetheless, it's been one of the best sources of information I've found for doing one's self employment tax forms.