HOME BUSINESS TAX DEDUCTIONS: Keep What You Earn (Paperback)

~ Stephen Fishman J.D. (Author)
Key Phrases: net operating losses, revenue rulings, other retirement plans, United States, Social Security, Stephen Fishman (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Whether you're going to start or have already started your business, you need this book." --Paul Tulenko, syndicated business columnist

Review

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

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: NOLO; 5 edition (December 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1413309070
• ISBN-13: 978-1413309072
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #47,684 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #17 in	Books > Business & Investing > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Home Based
  #18 in	Books > Business & Investing > Personal Finance > Personal Taxes
  #24 in	Books > Nonfiction > Law > Business > Consumer Law

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 61 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)

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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.

25 of 26 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.

14 of 14 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 500 REVIEWER)

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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.