For many busine owners the a wer to this quandary is tax preparation software. Fill out a fairly si
Can One Software Program Cover All Busine es?
Take a moment to co ider the wide range of busine es that exist in the United States. Now cut that number down to those that can be categorized as Internet busine es. If you were asked to write a busine plan to provide web design services to each of these services, how long would it be? It would be huge and completely usele because each busine would have different needs. A Internet busine selling flowers would have completely different needs from an online bank which would have different needs from a hosting company and so on. The only way you could create a practical plan for all Internet busine es would be to offer a collection of general services they could all use on their sites. Tax preparation software designers have the same problem.
There are over 15,000 pages in the tax code and over 100,000 pages of regulatio interpreting those pages. Changes are made to the tax code ever year, and new regulatio are i ued co tantly. If one were to create a list of questio for every tax deduction and credit detailed in those pages, the list of questio would be the size of a phone book! Yet, tax software programmers have somehow boiled it all down to a simple 30-minute interview proce ? Common se e should tell you that doe t make se e.
As practical matter, tax software programs are designed to make sure that you claim a general set of deductio that are a licable to busine es acro all industries. Most programs try to mask this fact by asking you to identify your busine before proceeding. For a lark, you might try selecting another industry and then ru ing through the interview proce . You will find that the interview proce is modified a bit, but you are still being asked the same basic tax deduction questio . If you are only claiming general busine tax deductio , you are paying more than you should in taxes. Ask yourself if you have seen any of the following questio in a tax software program interview:
Q. Do you store busine inventory in your house?
Hint: You may be able to claim hundreds or thousands of dollars in deductio .
Q. Did you start a pe ion plan for your employees?
Hint: You may be able to claim a tax credit for the next three years totaling $1,500.
Q. Do you have a home-based busine and a second office?
Hint: You may be able to deduct your commuting expe es each day. Yes, commuting expe es.
Q. Do you have busine meetings at your home?
Hint: Did you charge your busine for the ace?
Q. Should you claim the standard mileage rate for your auto or the actual costs?
Hint: The standard mileage rate may not the best option.
Q. Did you modify your busine location to comply with the America with Disabilities Act?
Hint: You may be able to claim a tax credit AND tax deduction for tax savings of $20,000 or more.
Q. Did you refinance your home?
Hint: The points you paid on your original mortgage are fully deductible now, not over the length of the loan.
This represents only the tip of the iceberg of available credits and deductio available to you. Just one of these deductio could save you thousands of dollars in taxes. Yet, you are never going to see these questio raised in a tax software program interview. The tax code and regulatio are simply too large to be incorporated into a usable software program.
Your busine is unique. You face and overcome i ues and problems that are unique to your size, financial situation and particular busine needs. Dont short change yourself by limiting your deductio by using tax software programs.
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