Tax time again.

Thanks to A-line . He is credited with this in depth checklist of writeoffs. He first posted it in 2004(?)

Anything that you can add?

Building Rent/Lease
Dispatcher
Property Taxes
Management Training
Office Training
Tangible Taxes
In-House Training
Building Insurance
Tech Training
Mfg. Training
Telephones
Training Equipment
Vehicle Maintenance
Travel
Utilities
Vehicles
Loans
Subscriptions
Inspections
Liability Insurance
Employee Insurance
Truck Racks
Toll Calls
Bonds
Pagers/Cell Phones
Ladders
Trips to Supply House
Safety Equipment
Radios
Licenses
Computer Maint.
Law Suits
Radio Maintenance
Printing
Software
Office Equipment
Vacation Pay
Copy Machine
Forms
Life Insurance
Holiday Pay
Uniforms
Accounting
Business Insurance
Workers Comp.
Trade Association
Wages
Salaries
Advertising
Tax Preparation
Stationary
Theft
Memberships
Fuel
Interest
Marketing
Pay Roll Taxes
Uncollected Money
Unbillable Hours
Commissions
Call Backs
Unemployment
30+ Day Receivables
Safety Training
Bonuses
Shortages
Equipment
Bad Checks
Inventory
Delivery
Christmas Party
Test Equipment
Dues
Replacement Parts
Parts Storage
Damages
Material Purchases
Tool Replacement
Truck Signs
Warehouse Space
Files
Company Tools
Bank Charges
Building Maintenance
Legal
Computers
Trash Removal
Incentives
Postage
Credit Card Sales
Drug Testing
Office Supplies
Uniform Maintenance
Retirement Plan
Retainers
Grounds Maintenance

I wonder if I could write off my golden retriever as a mascot.

That list reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where kramer says to jerry its a write off, and jerry says who writes it off?, kramer says they do.that list leads me to believe that anything a buisness does, which is not a profit is a write off.

If you painted a picture of the dog on your truck and used it in an ad it is probably deductible as a marketing expense.

Or enrolled the dog. in the guide dog program.

Somehow I see an issue for using a guide dog for a tax write off for an electrician. Not for a tax write off itself since it would be claimed to be a tool. I am talking about showing up at the customer's door with guide dog and saying, "Hey, I'm here to root around in your electrical panel".

If you put your dog on the side of you truck, on letter letterhead, business cards, ads. I's say it is a writeoff.

I wonder if we can get away with using our kids picture in the same manner and the cost of raising them is cost to maintaining the company image? hmmm.

If your in business, and enrolled in supporting the raising of a guide dog, it is not only something you can deduct, but an excellant way to help the guide dog foundation continue their great work. And you even get to take care of the dog for a while.

Guard dog.

Expanding on vehicle maintenance... I write off some shop and auto-repair tools.

I do my own repairs. I use the tools only for my work van.

For those of us living south of the Canadian border, and are subject to paying the IRS, then there are differences between capital expenses and deductible expenses. Some of the items on the A-line list are not actually accepted as deductable expenses by the IRS. Publication 535 from the Internal Revenue Service details what is a deductable expense and what qualifies as a capital expense. I bet the majority of us have CPA's doing our taxes for us, at least I should hope so. And your CPA should know the differences in the two types of deductables.

Don't laugh to hard about the dog as a "tool". The company my wife built houses for hired a "mold sniffing dog" out of Vegas ... $2000 a day. That's a good dog.

How does that work?

After a good rain... My dog smells LIKE mold!!!:)

Will that work?

Here's a few more that I write off:

Security system & monitoring
CCTV system
Sattelite radio receiver (for use at work)
Satellite radio subscription
Ghetto blasters (for use at work)
Business use of personal vehicle
Cleaning supplies for vehicle
Parking fees
Disposal fees
Electrical permits
Meals
Company functions (eg Xmas Party)
Hearing tests
Asbestos testing
Internet
Other office supplies (coffee machine, coffee, fridge, microwave, etc)
Insurance deductables

My wife said she thought it was just a scam but the dog did find some mold behind a wall. He walks along sniffing and when he sits down that is the spot.

BTW that was a "Golden" so KJay has a shot. Remember it was two grand a day, plus expenses.

She came home and gave "Auggie Doggie" the devil for not being more productive.

Coffee
Donuts
Pizza
All out of town meals

that's because it is...just about anything that can legally paid with pre-tax money is a write off...

Mahlere's correct. I remember when, some years ago, a friend opened a record shop. (You know, those things they used before MP3's, DVD's, cassette tapes, etc.). His accountant laid down the law - he could have the plane OR the boat, but not both, as "business expenses."

The tax code make a mention of the code relying upon voluntary compliance (a phrase the 'no-tax' folks love to cite). That's at the core of the issue. The real check on these deductions is the fear of an audit .... that is, you need to ask yourself if the 'expense' would seem legitimate to a dozen strangers who were tasked with deciding whether you need to go to prison, or not.

So ... as an example ... donuts.
You stop off on the way to the office for a coffee and donut. Probably not.
You pick up a box of donuts for the crew. Probably yes.

Would a parking ticket count as a parking fee? beats walking 6 block to get that one part that you forgot.

There are two basic references where one can START learning about this stuff.

The first is the instruction booklet the IRS publishes each year for the 1040 tax return (long form). That's the return you'll be signing. On that form are a number of categories of deductions; the instructions explain every category pretty well.

The second is a book titled "What the IRS Doesn't Want You to Know." It explains, pretty well, the enforcement procedures of the IRS.

To answer the specific ... fines, penalties, judgments, and the like are generally NOT deductible.

The big secret in surviving an audit is to have good records but don't show them anything until they want to see it, then bury them in paper.
They ended up giving me money back the last time I was audited.

Don't forget to schedule the appointment as late as possible and on Friday.

I tried to claim a couple and my accountant told me that I can't. I supply coins for each van for parking, so there's no excuse for my employees to get parking tickets. If they do and don't pay them, I get a notice from the city a few months later and the fee is higher (original ticket is $5, goes up to $15). This is deducted off the employee's paycheck when I pay it. I have all employees sign a form when they're hired stating they agree to this.

Don't call it a parking ticket when you claim it, call it a $15 parking fee. After all, there's no reciepts for those spots where you just stuff bills through the little slots so they can't require you to have reciepts for every time you parked your truck. Besides, the best spots are expensive, everyone knows that! If they only get ya 2 days a week, that's just $5 or so/day.

Or if you don't claim it as a business expense, claim it as a local parking tax. After all, everything paid to your local government is a tax, right?

(FYI, I'm not a tax lawyer.)

They will look at what your competitors pay for "parking" and set a benchmark. If you are out of the range they are used to seeing they will want to see some kind of documentation.
99% of IRS "compliance" audits are triggered by something the computer sees as being out of the normal range. If your peers are paying $5 a day to park in a garage or plug the all day meters and you do as well playing the "dodge the meter maid" game on short term meters you probably get away with it.
I would still have your drivers making out a daily log and spreading their parking tickets out across the days, if for no other reason, so you know how much it is costing you.
When I was on the road working I kept a log of everything I did in my vehicles and it really came in handy later. The trick is just getting started doing it. Once it becomes your routine it is just second nature to write everything down.