Business expenses relate to the total costs involved in carrying on a business or trade, and can be offset against the amount of tax payable on the company's profits. In order to be tax deductible, such business expenses must be deemed by the IRS both 'ordinary and necessary'.
A 'necessary' expense is an expense deemed appropriate and helpful to your business or trade, although it need not be indispensable. An 'ordinary' expense is one deemed accepted and common in your business or trade.
It is important to claim your Business Expenses separately from your Capital and Personal Expenses, as you may not be allowed to claim it as a deductible in the same year that you incurred or paid it, or not at all, even if it is deemed 'ordinary and necessary'.
Expenses
This list is intended to be a comprehensive itemisation of deductible business expenses. However, this area of accountancy is fantastically complicated, and the IRS documentation is extensive, with numerous rulings. This list is therefore not exhaustive, nor can it ever be so.
Accounting fees Advertising Air fares Amortization Awards and Prizes Bad Debts Banking fees Board Meetings Building Repairs and Maintenance Barrier Removal Costs Bicycles Business gifts Business start-up Charitable donations* Circulation costs (publications) Cleaning/Janitorial costs Computer consumables Computer equipment Conference/Trade Show expenses Consultancy Fees Credit Card Convenience fees Customer Discounts Customer/Client Entertainment Employee Benefits Employee Gifts/Bonuses Employee Reimbursement Exploration Costs Federal taxes (various) Fixtures and Fittings Foreign Trading Costs Franchise/Trademark fees Freelancers Freight/Shipping Fringe Benefits | Fuel/Gas Guard Dog Hire and rental charges Hotels and Motels Impairment Expenses Insurance Premiums (various) Intangible Drilling Costs Interest on loans Internet Costs Interview Reimbursements Inventory Investment Advice/Fees Late performance penalties Leasing rental Legal costs Licences and Regulatory fees Magazines, books & journals Maintenance/Repairs Management Fees Marketing costs Meals and Lodging Mileage Mineable Asset Development Motor vehicle depreciation Motor vehicle repairs Moving Machinery/Plant Office rental Oil and Gas Well Depletion On Site Gym Outplacement Services Parking and Tolls Patent costs Payroll Processing & Taxes Penalties and Fines Pension Plans Phone calls Postage Printing
| Private Road repairs Professional membership dues Profit Sharing Publicity Materials Recovered Damages Real Estate Costs Rent on Business Premises Repayments Repairs to equipment Reforestation Costs Research and Experimentation Retired Asset Removal Costs Retirement Plans Royalties Safe Safety Deposit Box Service Fees Software Staff Entertainment State & Local taxes (various) Storage Rental Supplies and materials Subcontractors & Freelancers Tax Preparation Fees Taxi Fares Thefts and Disasters Timber Depletion Tips Tools (with qualifications) Training/Education costs Travel and Subsistence Uniform Use of home for business Use of vehicle for business Utilities Wages Waste Disposal Website Design |
It is crucial to keep accurate and honest records. If you do not, the IRS may seek to reclaim unpaid taxes, even after several years, leading to the prospect of unexpected bills. Such bills could comprise several years’ payments of back taxes, plus interest and penalties. If in doubt, keep everything that you think might possibly required in the event of a tax audit, including bills, receipts, used tickets, etc.
Below are a few of the major items you may not know you can claim. For more information, visit the IRS website.
Using Your Home as as Office
If you use a part of your home as an office for business activities, you may be able to claim deductible expenses for it. These may include depreciation, repairs, insurance, mortgage interest and utilities.
To qualify for deductible expenses related to using your home as a place of business, including rent or mortgage relief, you must comply with both pf the following criteria.
1. You must use the business section of your home regularly and exclusively for your business or trade.
2. The exclusively business part of your home premises must also be:
a. Your principal place of business; or
b. Somewhere you deal with or meet clients, customers or patients in the normal course of your business or trade; or
c. a detached structure separate from your home which you use in connection with your business or trade.
These criteria do not generally apply to storage for business purposes, eg samples or inventory, or use as a daycare facility.
If part of your home is used as an office, it qualifies as your 'principal place of business' if it complies with the following criteria.
1. You use your home office regularly and exclusively for management or administrative activities pursuant to your business or trade.
2. You do not conduct substantial management or administrative activities pursuant to your business or trade at any other fixed location.
Vehicular Expenses
If you use your car, bike, van or truck for business as well as personal journeys, then you must keep scrupulous records of business-related expenditure on such items as gas, parking, road tolls, repairs and maintenance, which are all deductible. Alternatively, you can opt for the more straightforward route of claiming mileage at the IRS standard rate (53.5 cents/mile in 2018).
This may seem an impossible choice, but it pays to do some research. If you spend a lot of time in your vehicle running errands, picking up supplies or making deliveries, you may find that the mileage rate pays off better than the individual deductibles. On the other hand, if you don't do so many miles, but use an older vehicle that lacks fuel efficiency and needs regular maintenance, the itemised deductibles might amount to a greater claim overall.
Travel Expenses
Tech industry hackathons and blockchain bonanzas are only some of the trade and professional events where you can go to brainstorm with similar business owners and operators. When you travel to such an event. you can claim a modest business deduction covering all your related expenses. These range in stature from airfares and hotel bills, to mileage, meals in transit and tips, and include some you might not have considered, such as shipping display items ahead, parking and road tolls, and phone/fax costs.
In order to qualify as tax deductible, your trip must comply with the following criteria:
Your responsibilities and business-related activities during the trip must require you to be absent from your regular place of work for substantially longer than one normal working day.
You have to sleep or rest in order to meet the demands of the business you are conducting while away from your regular workplace.
In these circumstances, you are entitled to claim deductibles for Meals and Lodging for yourself and any company employees, provided no part of the meal pertains to customer or client entertainment, in which case it goes in a separate category (below). You can also claim airline, train or bus tickets, gas for your car and car hire from the airport, plus your hotel or motel bills.
Client and Employee Entertainment
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA” or the “Act”) severely limits the deductibility of business entertainment expenses. Under the new rules, taxpayers will want to track entertainment expenses differently than they do now.
Under the new rules, client entertainment expenses are a thing of the past, and means if your business incurs expenses for amusement, you can no longer claim a 50% deduction. Further, under the TCJA, expenses for entertainment activities and entertainment facilities are no longer deductible. Activities that include things like golf outings, sporting events, concerts, hunting and fishing trips, and country club dues are now classified as non-deductible “facility” costs.
Generally, business meals for employees are deductible, subject to the 50% limitation, provided they are not lavish or extravagant, and the taxpayer (or an employee of the taxpayer) is present when such food or beverage is furnished.
The new tax law still permits a full 100% deduction for expenses associated with recreational or social activities for employees, including holiday parties, summer outings, team bonding, etc. This would not include an event that is primarily for clients even if employees attend. Basically, this means, you need to be able to prove that the event primarily benefits the employee.
TJCA Cheat Sheet
The following table outlines different activities and expenses, and provides general guidelines on the way the TJCA laws impact meals and entertainment expenses:
Examples of Meals and Entertainment | Guidelines | ||
Business Entertainment Trips or Events (sporting events, concerts, fishing trips, country club dues, movies, etc.) | Nondeductible | ||
Tickets to Charitable Events | Nondeductible | ||
Business Meals (with associates, clients, customers, or prospects) | Nondeductible | ||
Employee Travel Meals | 50% Deductible | ||
Meals for Business Leagues (Chambers of Commerce, Boards of Trade, etc.) | 50% Deductible | ||
Meals for Meetings (with employees, stockholders, agents, or directors) | 50% Deductible | ||
Meals Provided for Convenience Of Employer | 50% Deductible | ||
Employee Events (holiday parties, summer outings, and other social/recreation activities) | 100% Deductible | ||
Office Snacks & Beverages | 100% Deductible |
Education expenses.
Education and vocational training are deductible expenses for the costs defrayed in the training and education of your employees as well as yourself. The education must relate directly to your business or trade and will maintain or improve the skills you need for it. You can also claim a deductible if the training or education is required by law or by trade or business regulations, in order to keep your job, job status, or license to practice.
These few tips are but a drop in the ocean of deductible business expenses, and it is highly recommended that you consult the IRS website and a qualified tax professional.