# Tax question about jobs you did not get?



## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

BCConstruction said:


> All mine does. It don't have to but it just has to be part of your work wear and just not general clothes you wear day to day. Like my plumber pants I wear with knee pads built in. No logos but it can be claimed.


That's kosher, it's when people try to deduct socks, underware, jeans etc. Comapny shirts distributed as uniforms are a write off. It's an easy one to get snagged on.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

Inner10 said:


> I don't know everything, I only took accounting until my third year university and ended with a minor in business and a major in economics. I do all my personal and business taxes.
> 
> All I can tell ya is you can't make up a value for wasted time and deduct it as an expense. You can't make expenses out of thin air...
> 
> Clothing is one of the easiest things for an auditor to hammer you on. If you write off a pair of carhartt pants prepare to get your weiner slapped because they can be worn outside the work environment.


I'm not saying you make them out of thin air. that obvious to anyone. I'm trying to figure out what I can claim on my business to bring my taxes down. If I can claim even 10% of the cost of me running around doing estimates then its worth it. 

As an example I just drove 132 miles combined back and forth looking at a job, that's a lot of time without even being in the office doing the estimate and renderings. So there's no way for me to get any of that back in the way of a deduction. I don't believe you just have to get the job before you can claim it as an expense. it's cost your business even though you ain't got the job yet.


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## kubie (Oct 19, 2008)

I dont see why jeans are not a right off. Cant we have a dress code or uniform for work?


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

Inner10 said:


> That's kosher, it's when people try to deduct socks, underware, jeans etc. Comapny shirts distributed as uniforms are a write off. It's an easy one to get snagged on.


I have had the same 2 pairs of underwear for 5 years so that not an issue lol


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

BCConstruction said:


> I'm not saying you make them out of thin air. that obvious to anyone. I'm trying to figure out what I can claim on my business to bring my taxes down. If I can claim even 10% of the cost of me running around doing estimates then its worth it.
> 
> As an example I just drove 132 miles combined back and forth looking at a job, that's a lot of time without even being in the office doing the estimate and renderings. So there's no way for me to get any of that back in the way of a deduction. I don't believe you just have to get the job before you can claim it as an expense. it's cost your business even though you ain't got the job yet.


It's not the IRS's fault you don't charge for your time doing estimates, if you want to work for free that's your choice.

And you deduct all your overhead during that time, fuel expense, entertainment buying your client expensive dinners and drinks, the salary that you pay your 21 year old female assistant with the size E tits etc.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

kubie said:


> I dont see why jeans are not a right off. Cant we have a dress code or uniform for work?


Yep but even if you have a dress code that requires jeans you can't write them off because you could use them for other use.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

Inner10 said:


> It's not the IRS's fault you don't charge for your time doing estimates, if you want to work for free that's your choice.
> 
> And you deduct all your overhead during that time, fuel expense, entertainment buying your client expensive dinners and drinks, the salary that you pay your 21 year old female assistant with the size E tits etc.


Ok so that answers part of it. Currently I don't account for them costs unless I get the job. That's a start.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

BCConstruction said:


> Ok so that answers part of it. Currently I don't account for them costs unless I get the job. That's a start.




To put it simply if it costs your business actual money you can write it off...if it's just sh!t you dream up you can't write it off.

Now if you go through the drive through at BK and get a whopper you can't write that off...but if you buy two whoppers and give one to an employee you can write off 50% of that.

You live in a country that you can charge whatever you want for anything...just because you don't want to charge for it doesn't mean you can evade taxes on your other sources of income.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Inner10 said:


> Have fun with you're next audit.
> 
> (unless US tax policy is different than Canada)


Seriously? You're calling him an idiot and his tax guy an idiot and you don't even know the tax laws. Come on you gotta know better than that. if you don't know, just stay out of the conversation.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

Inner10 said:


> To put it simply if it costs your business actual money you can write it off...if it's just sh!t you dream up you can't write it off.
> 
> Now if you go through the drive through at BK and get a whopper you can't write that off...but if you buy two whoppers and give one to an employee you can write off 50% of that.
> 
> You live in a country that you can charge whatever you want for anything...just because you don't want to charge for it doesn't mean you can evade taxes on your other sources of income.


I have never done the food thing. I sometimes goto lunch with subs and never claim it back. 

So I guess the IRS see a job where you worked for 5 hours and didnt get paid and a job where you priced a job out for 5 hours and don't get paid as both not being a "bad debt". 

I sure is confusing.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Leo G said:


> Seriously? You're calling him an idiot and his tax guy an idiot and you don't even know the tax laws. Come on you gotta know better than that. if you don't know, just stay out of the conversation.


I know they are similar enough to Canada...are you saying he isn't an idiot? :laughing:



BCConstruction said:


> I have never done the food thing. I sometimes goto lunch with subs and never claim it back.
> 
> So I guess the IRS see a job where you worked for 5 hours and didnt get paid and a job where you priced a job out for 5 hours and don't get paid as both not being a "bad debt".
> 
> I sure is confusing.


Claim everything you legally can.

It's not confusing at all, if you invoice it you claim it as income in that period. Then later when you can't collect you can write it off. It just sets things back to 0. This is why you are allowed to carry an allowance for doubtful accounts.

Estimating you never claimed the income...you can't just deduct it if you never earned it in the first place.

What about this is at all confusing in anyway?


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

Inner10 said:


> I know they are similar enough to Canada...are you saying he isn't an idiot? :laughing:
> 
> Claim everything you legally can.
> 
> ...


The dam IRS are what's confusing lol 

And yes I'm an idiot when it comes to this stuff. My brain was never designed for paper work of any kind.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

BCConstruction said:


> The dam IRS are what's confusing lol
> 
> And yes I'm an idiot when it comes to this stuff. My brain was never designed for paper work of any kind.


Take that Leo. :laughing:


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## CrpntrFrk (Oct 25, 2008)

Not understanding the clothes thing. I claim all my work clothes. If you can use them somewhere other than work then it would seem they would only allow a certain percentage. Like my truck.....I am allowed a certain percentage because there is no way I use that vehicle %100 for work. Which.....is true. But alas I too am a "tax idiot". LOL


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## EthanB (Sep 28, 2011)

I think some of you are talking about two different things.

#1. Writing off the EXPENSES associated with providing estimates, e.g. fuel, supplies, wages, etc.

#2. Writing off the INCOME that would have resulted from the time spent on the estimate in the event that you had won the project.

#1 is totally fine because we're talking about operating expenses. If you don't pay yourself an hourly wage then I imagine it would be harder to claim the full value of your time.

#2 is probably a no-go as it's just too hard to define it as income loss. Imagine if every time someone walked into a car dealership they wrote it off as the loss of a $25k sale when they didn't buy:blink:.

When you write off volunteer projects you don't write off the value of the project, just the expenses. The IRS doesn't care about imaginary profit.


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## KAP (Feb 19, 2011)

BC, you can't write off your time because you are paid by the company... your accountant will find this out soon enough... If that were possible, you would also be able to write-off time for charity work... you cannot... You can't even write-off material donations because that would be a double write-off... unless you didn't claim it on your materials for you company... either way, one write-off only...

All your other expenses associated with the sales call, like gas, materials for drawings, telemarketing expenses, marketing, etc... all are write-off's...

With regards to clothes... Clothes with your logo or dedicated to work only are tax deductible... but you would have to prove those pants are only there for work only otherwise it could be challenged... 

If you buy uniforms, including pants, specialty socks, etc. for employees... all a write-off...

That said, if your accountant can find some sort of loophole, there are thousands of us in the industry who would love to know it...


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

CrpntrFrk said:


> Not understanding the clothes thing. I claim all my work clothes. If you can use them somewhere other than work then it would seem they would only allow a certain percentage. Like my truck.....I am allowed a certain percentage because there is no way I use that vehicle %100 for work. Which.....is true. But alas I too am a "tax idiot". LOL


This is a example why the IRS is such a cluster f**k. so many stupid rules for silly things. My work shoes don't have logos on them and even though I don't use them for anything but work they wouldn't allow me to claim on them if I used them to get up on my roof to clear my gutters. 

What idiots sit there and think up this crap! Prob someone like me who don't have the first clue about tax lol


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Inner10 said:


> I know they are similar enough to Canada...are you saying he isn't an idiot? :laughing:



I'm saying it is more than worth it to look into it. I spend numerous hours trying to get jobs that never amount to anything but a pile of paperwork and time on the clock that I'll never get paid for.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

EthanB said:


> I think some of you are talking about two different things.
> 
> #1. Writing off the EXPENSES associated with providing estimates, e.g. fuel, supplies, wages, etc.
> 
> ...


#2... You spent 8 hours on a bid, it produced paperwork. Drawings, estimates, contracts. All of that is proof that time was spent on it. That is lost income in my book. 

Now you just have to find the right form to claim it on.


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## KAP (Feb 19, 2011)

Minimum wage plays a role here... :whistling:


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## Warren (Feb 19, 2005)

The bottom line is that your time is worth nothing according to the IRS. If they operated any other way, it would lead to an incredible amount of fraud. A business that spends more than it brings in for a long period of time, would probably end up being classified as a hobby.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

Warren said:


> The bottom line is that your time is worth nothing according to the IRS. If they operated any other way, it would lead to an incredible amount of fraud. A business that spends more than it brings in for a long period of time, would probably end up being classified as a hobby.


Yeah my tax guy said that most construction business run at a loss for 4-5 years and if you go over 5 years you could get audited and have your business license revoked and classed as a hobby. I was worried I was not making a profit the first 3 years but with all the stuff I bought and invested into the business that's understandable. This year should be my first year of profit so that's 4 years its took me.


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## KAP (Feb 19, 2011)

BCConstruction said:


> Yeah my tax guy said that most construction business run at a loss for 4-5 years and if you go over 5 years you could get audited and have your business license revoked and classed as a hobby. I was worried I was not making a profit the first 3 years but with all the stuff I bought and invested into the business that's understandable. This year should be my first year of profit so that's 4 years its took me.


Just keep in mind there is a difference between you making money and your company making a NET profit...


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Leo G said:


> I'm saying it is more than worth it to look into it. I spend numerous hours trying to get jobs that never amount to anything but a pile of paperwork and time on the clock that I'll never get paid for.


No it's not this is very cut and dry you can't write off pie in the sky losses. 

The fact you will never get paid for it is your own fault for not charging for it.



Leo G said:


> #2... You spent 8 hours on a bid, it produced paperwork. Drawings, estimates, contracts. All of that is proof that time was spent on it. That is lost income in my book.
> 
> Now you just have to find the right form to claim it on.


Guys wake up and listen:

IF YOU DO NOT LIKE WORKING FOR FREE START CHARGING FOR YOUR TIME!


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## Warren (Feb 19, 2005)

Inner10 said:


> No it's not this is very cut and dry you can't write off pie in the sky losses.
> 
> The fact you will never get paid for it is your own fault for not charging for it.
> 
> ...


That is certainly good advice. There seems to be two camps here. Those who charge for estimates, and those who don't. For those who don't, we have chosen to write the cost of the missed jobs into the made jobs. I have certainly missed my share. I do not whine about it, it is just my chosen method. I mainly work with other contractors, so I am somewhat at their mercy when it comes to what I bid. When I feel the ratio of made/missed has gone astray, I refuse to bid certain jobs. Over the years I have gotten a lot choosier. I now know that the jobs I bid are likely to come in, are going to be profitable, and will offset the bids of the few I didn't get.


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## BamBamm5144 (Jul 12, 2008)

I just used my business card for a headlight bulb on my truck. Since I rarely go to meetings at night is that a write off?

Point being is that it is so complex that everyone here is most likely doing at least one thing wrong. I think the problem occurs when you do 100 things wrong.


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## thom (Nov 3, 2006)

You guys make things sooooooooo complicated. 

Clothing: You may write off uniforms that are not regular clothing. Work shirts with company name/logo are a write off as are steel-toe work boots, hard hats, and safety glasses. Blue-Jeans and regular shirts are not a write off even though you wear them to work. 

Lunches are not a write off generally, however, if the lunch costs serves a valid business purpose it may be. If you buy lunch for your crew, on the job-site, so they don't spend time locking up the tools then un-rolling after lunch the lunch cost is probably a valid deduction. (Google does it at their campus). This would require having lunch delivered to the site. 

You may write off valid expenses, which are real costs. Your time is not a valid expense however, if you actually pay yourself for the time spent on running sales calls that is a valid business expense, it is also a wash for tax purposes. You made an extra $100 in income and you have an extra $100 expense associated with that income. It is of no effect other than to raise questions at the IRS. 

Your truck is a 100% business expense providing you NEVER use it for personal use, not even to pick up a jug of milk on the way home from the job or to drive out to lunch. If you ever use your truck for personal use then you must charge only the business use. This can be calculated as a percentage of total costs that matches the percentage of total use for business but you must keep detailed records of those costs, or you can take the standard mileage deduction and keep detailed records. Commuting to the job is not a business expense unless you are self-employed and your base is your home-office. 

Many people write off stuff that they shouldn't, it's called tax-evasion. There is no statute of limitations on tax-evasion. If you tell people and they turn you in, they may get a cut of the collections. Generally the fine is equal to the taxes evaded, then you pay taxes and interest from the time of the evasion. Example, you wrote off $100 you shouldn't have saving yourself $25 in taxes. They charge you $25 in taxes, $100 fine, then interest on the taxes and the fine from the time you should have paid the taxes. If it is blatant enough they just might add some jail time.

Leo seems to think he can write of lost income. Not so, at least not if their was no income to actually lose. If you bill for the time, the owner doesn't pay, then you can show the billed amount as income and write off his not paying as a bad debt. That is perfectly legal and also meaningless. It gets you nowhere. 

There is no such thing as a bad debt on unreported income. There is no such thing as writing off your time.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

Here's another one. I just spent $420 on stuff to keep my truck and trailer looking clean and protected.

Can I claim this?

The last 3x I didn't claim these through the business even though they were only used on business stuff.


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## MTN REMODEL LLC (Sep 3, 2010)

BCConstruction said:


> My tax guy thinks it may come under "unpaid invoices" as a deduction. Basically you do work and are not paid. That's what he checking into. He said its basically a bad debt if so. And that can be wrote off.
> 
> Each year I find other stuff I can claim I didn't know I could the year before. This might or might not be another.
> 
> He said the milage, office supplies and expenses for that particular job you quoted can def be claimed.


So you claim X revenue and X bad debt....equals net 0.... what has your tax guy accomomplished apart from looking dumb in front of the IRS if you're ever audited.

Hope he's not hourly


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

MTN REMODEL LLC said:


> So you claim X revenue and X bad debt....equals net 0.... what has your tax guy accomomplished apart from looking dumb in front of the IRS if you're ever audited.
> 
> Hope he's not hourly


he won't get back to me until Monday at earliest so I don't know what his answer is yet. it seem I can claim most of what I'm asking. Just not the time. That's fine with me as its better than nothing. He may or may not find something different out.


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

BCConstruction said:


> Here's another one. I just spent $420 on stuff to keep my truck and trailer looking clean and protected.
> 
> Can I claim this?
> 
> The last 3x I didn't claim these through the business even though they were only used on business stuff.


Generally you can claim it if you spent money on it.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

griz said:


> Generally you can claim it if you spent money on it.


does that still apply if the vehicle I use is for personal use and work use.


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## Roofcheck (Dec 27, 2011)

The big reason to collect on depts because it is your money not a tax deduction. The logic of losing $100 on a bad dept to save the 25% or so of income from your taxes is, well bad business you are at best behind $75 bucks!


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

thom said:


> Leo seems to think he can write of lost income. Not so, at least not if their was no income to actually lose. If you bill for the time, the owner doesn't pay, then you can show the billed amount as income and write off his not paying as a bad debt. That is perfectly legal and also meaningless. It gets you nowhere.
> 
> There is no such thing as a bad debt on unreported income. There is no such thing as writing off your time.


When did I say that? I certainly said that it should be a valid write off. You work and when you don't get the job that time that you spent working is a wash and ends up as a loss to your business. But the IRS thinks of it as no value only because they are in the business of taking your money, not letting you keep it.


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

BCConstruction said:


> does that still apply if the vehicle I use is for personal use and work use.


Yes. You just don't get the whole amount.

Talk to your accountant as they have to feel comfortable with what they do. A great deal like dealing with an attorney....the law can be interpreted many different ways....:laughing:


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## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

An accountant really shouldn't have to "look into" something this elementary. I would find a new CPA. Telling you that you can write off baby sitting or day care expenses through your business should have been a big red flag. It is a personal expense. Find a new CPA and fast!

Also, ignore the Canadian, they always think that they know more about our laws and country than they do.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

TNTSERVICES said:


> An accountant really shouldn't have to "look into" something this elementary. I would find a new CPA. Telling you that you can write off baby sitting or day care expenses through your business should have been a big red flag. It is a personal expense. Find a new CPA and fast!
> 
> Also, ignore the Canadian, they always think that they know more about our laws and country than they do.


No the guy told me I could claim child care as a deduction when no one else knew anything about it and said we couldn't.. We file jointly so these things get put under joint deductions the same as our salary is combined even though she don't work for me. 

Just like any pro would do if you ain't 100% sure check. I would rather him check and be right that assume its ok to get a deduction and it not be. I'm sure he will tell me in the morning but he's probably gonna tell me what I already read and that if I was on a salary them yes it could be done as a deduction but I don't pay my self a salary currently.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

TNTSERVICES said:


> An accountant really shouldn't have to "look into" something this elementary. I would find a new CPA. Telling you that you can write off baby sitting or day care expenses through your business should have been a big red flag. It is a personal expense. Find a new CPA and fast!
> 
> Also, ignore the Canadian, they always think that they know more about our laws and country than they do.


Apparently I knew the answer to his question....


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## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

Inner10 said:


> Apparently I knew the answer to his question....


Just figured I hadn't heard from you in a while and thought I would see if you were really paying attention. 

Go back and look at your post, I was the only one that "thanked" it. Sucka! :laughing:


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

TNTSERVICES said:


> Just figured I hadn't heard from you in a while and thought I would see if you were really paying attention.
> 
> Go back and look at your post, I was the only one that "thanked" it. Sucka! :laughing:


LoL ya got me fvcker!


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## MTN REMODEL LLC (Sep 3, 2010)

Inner10 said:


> Apparently I knew the answer to his question....


Eh.... Yep:thumbsup:


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## eastend (Jan 24, 2006)

simply put- it's called Cost of Doing Business.
Marketing costs, sales costs,- salary, fuel expense etc is all deductible as a business expense
it is not tied to a specific job that you may land.
It's part of your overhead.


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## Marven (Jul 15, 2013)

Thom and KAP have got it right. You can't deduct for lost time. 

If you try to deduct X dollars for time you spent on estimate, you would have to include X dollars in income and it would be a wash.

And I agree, your tax guy should have known this.


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## Hank B. (May 6, 2013)

For my own curiosity let me see if I look at this correctly. If your incorporated, you pay yourself wages. So time you spent working on estimates would be a deduction for the company. You would then have to pay taxes on those wages. If you Pay yourself enough to keep your personal taxes low or nothing, And the company through LEGIT Deductions also pays a little to nothing, then great sell more. If the company makes a profit beyond that, then either you corp. sets you up with a fat bonus, or pays tax on that profit, or a combination of both, whichever carries the lower tax burden. 

If your an owner/self employed filing your business taxes as your personal taxes suck up the lost time from you life, you probably have more of it anyway because your saving it in paperwork of recording your hrs and jumping through as many loopholes from not being inc. But then your a walking liability to yourself and family. 

Did I get that right?


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Hank B. said:


> For my own curiosity let me see if I look at this correctly. If your incorporated, you pay yourself wages. So time you spent working on estimates would be a deduction for the company. You would then have to pay taxes on those wages. If you Pay yourself enough to keep your personal taxes low or nothing, And the company through LEGIT Deductions also pays a little to nothing, then great sell more. If the company makes a profit beyond that, then either you corp. sets you up with a fat bonus, or pays tax on that profit, or a combination of both, whichever carries the lower tax burden.
> 
> If your an owner/self employed filing your business taxes as your personal taxes suck up the lost time from you life, you probably have more of it anyway because your saving it in paperwork of recording your hrs and jumping through as many loopholes from not being inc. But then your a walking liability to yourself and family.
> 
> Did I get that right?


Close, but being incorporated and being the principle of the company you can still be held personally liable if the book gets thrown at you hard enough.


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## thom (Nov 3, 2006)

BCConstruction said:


> does that still apply if the vehicle I use is for personal use and work use.


Depends. 

There are two ways to handle business use of a personal vehicle (which is what you are doing).

#1 Keep a daily log of miles used for business, then reimburse yourself at $0.55/mile. The IRS changes the amount regularly. 

#2 Keep a daily log of miles used for business, as well as a log of total miles used in a year. Keep track of every expense for the vehicle. Pro rate the vehicle costs associated with business use based on the percentage of miles driven during the year for business. This is your expense for business use of a personal vehicle. 

If you have a vehicle that is used solely for business you may expense all the costs of that vehicle. If, in an audit, you admit that you stopped at the grocery store on the way home one time, even though the grocery store was not out of the way, your claim will be denied. Business use must be 100%, not 99.999999999999%.


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## thom (Nov 3, 2006)

A simple business lesson.

If you are not earning enough from the jobs you actually do to pay for your time bidding jobs you don't get, to pay for time doing your books, to pay for keeping your truck(s) maintained, and all the other time and costs associated with operating a small business, you are not a successful business. You are personally subsidizing your business so that it can continue.


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## MTN REMODEL LLC (Sep 3, 2010)

thom said:


> A simple business lesson.
> 
> If you are not earning enough from the jobs you actually do to pay for your time bidding jobs you don't get, to pay for time doing your books, to pay for keeping your truck(s) maintained, and all the other time and costs associated with operating a small business, you are not a successful business. You are personally subsidizing your business so that it can continue.


*Ya know Tom.... ya got a good simple truth there:*thumbsup:

I see sometimes alot of discussion on labor/materials/overhead/profit contribution... sometimes with principals labor in... sometime not.

Now that is good and smart to understand the nature of expenses, what is controlable/variable/fixed.....

but ultimately your simple business lesson prevails:

Revenues- expenses= success or not (and degree of succes)

Best


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## Marven (Jul 15, 2013)

If you are a sole proprietor, you will deduct mileage for business at $.565 for 2013. Or you can take a percentage of actual expenses (Business vs personal %). Usually mileage is best and easiest.

If you claim your truck is 100% for business and you have another auto, they will not knock out the whole deduction if they find out the truck is 90% business. They will just lower your deduction by 10%.


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## concretemasonry (Dec 1, 2006)

It is just an overhead cost and is just a cost of doing business. No one expects to even get 50% of the jobs priced on the open market. A record of proposals in comparison the jobs obtained should always be maintained and can be an asset to justify the business operating costs.

Clothes for owners can be a little more vague unless you have a receipt showing they have a logo on them. If not you need a little proof, such as special needs or requirements and features.

As a supplier, we gave away plain white caps with no advertising or name at all and ordered in lots of 1000 at a time. We had a problem since everyone in the trade knew our name, but many others tried to get them for the image. - No problem with our accounting firm or IRS since it was a part of our cost of doing business.


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## Solar Control (Jan 27, 2009)

BCConstruction said:


> ... stuff deleted ...
> 
> Just like any pro would do if you ain't 100% sure check. I would rather him check and be right that assume its ok to get a deduction and it not be. I'm sure he will tell me in the morning but he's probably gonna tell me what I already read and that if I was on a salary them yes it could be done as a deduction but I don't pay my self a salary currently.


May I *humbly *suggest two things.

1) If you are paying for your tax advice I think you should look for another advisor. The items you mentioned are not something that they should have to research.

2) No matter how small, start cutting yourself a check every Friday. It will change your perspective (in a positive way) in how you run your business.

I know you're growing your business. You can grow it and draw from it at the same time.


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## MTN REMODEL LLC (Sep 3, 2010)

Solar Control said:


> May I *humbly *suggest two things.
> 
> 1) If you are paying for your tax advice I think you should look for another advisor. The items you mentioned are not something that they should have to research.
> 
> ...


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Excellent and simplistic advice for someone starting business.



Best


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

Well heard from him last night. basically He said what I read online. That I can claim the time if I'm on a salary but I can claim the out if pocket expenses. So that another thing I can claim next time. It may keep a little more from the tax man each year.

here's another question I had though. what do they class as consumables as in wipes, saw blades, rags, silicone, screws etc etc 

What can be claimed as 3 different tax guys told me 3 different things over the years.

in my eyes nails, screws, blades, wipes etc etc should all be priced in the job but 2 tax guys said I can claim all that stuff!


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## rrk (Apr 22, 2012)

Marven said:


> If you are a sole proprietor, you will deduct mileage for business at $.565 for 2013. Or you can take a percentage of actual expenses (Business vs personal %). Usually mileage is best and easiest.
> 
> If you claim your truck is 100% for business and you have another auto, they will not knock out the whole deduction if they find out the truck is 90% business. They will just lower your deduction by 10%.


I believe that you cannot switch between the 2 choices during the ownership of the truck/car. 

Leasing vehicles over a certain value is another problem area if not used 100% for the business.


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## Marven (Jul 15, 2013)

You can switch between the two unless you have previously taken Sec 179 Depreciation on the vehicle.

There are lease tables that tell you the value of the car/truck to the operator.


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## Warren (Feb 19, 2005)

Marven said:


> You can switch between the two unless you have previously taken Sec 179 Depreciation on the vehicle.
> 
> There are lease tables that tell you the value of the car/truck to the operator.


Read the tax law carefully. Pretty sure you can't start out taking mileage and then switch to actual cost. It is ok if done the other way though.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

BCConstruction said:


> Well heard from him last night. basically He said what I read online. That I can claim the time if I'm on a salary but I can claim the out if pocket expenses. So that another thing I can claim next time. It may keep a little more from the tax man each year.
> 
> here's another question I had though. what do they class as consumables as in wipes, saw blades, rags, silicone, screws etc etc
> 
> ...


Anything that lasts less than a year I claim as a consumable. Bits, blades, fastners, terminators etc. None go into inventory they just come right off the top.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Marven said:


> You can switch between the two unless you have previously taken Sec 179 Depreciation on the vehicle.
> 
> There are lease tables that tell you the value of the car/truck to the operator.


But anyone who uses actual cost will have deducted depreciation anyway.

Guys in accounting it is very important to remain consistent, for easy of your own bookeeping and so you don't get hammered in an audit.


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## Marven (Jul 15, 2013)

Warren said:


> Read the tax law carefully. Pretty sure you can't start out taking mileage and then switch to actual cost. It is ok if done the other way though.


I've done taxes for 30 years and I'm sure that you can switch back and forth in most cases.


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## Warren (Feb 19, 2005)

Marven said:


> I've done taxes for 30 years and I'm sure that you can switch back and forth in most cases.


You are incorrect. I have also prepared taxes forany years, including one year professionally.


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