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Turbo Tax for Business


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17 replies to this topic

#1 Bubble2Bubble

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Posted 11 March 2009 - 05:31 PM

Last year most SD members said they used Turbo Tax software to do there taxes. Are there any SD members using TT for Home & Business, which has Schedule C for home office and vehicles on it. I used this version of TT last year for the first time and I'm not sure if I put down all the deductions I could have...any members out there that know this version and some possible tips on filing the 2008 return and any possible small business breaks for 2008.

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#2 JimG

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Posted 11 March 2009 - 05:47 PM

I am self-employed (which basically means I work for my wife :usflag:), and I just use the regular Turbo Tax Deluxe. It does Schedule C and all that stuff just fine. I tried one of the more robust versions of TT one year and as I recall, it was basically nothing more than a bunch of videos that didn't really explain anything that I couldn't figure out just by reading the instructions on-line or on the form itself. Big waste of money, IMO.

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#3 Bubble2Bubble

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Posted 11 March 2009 - 07:33 PM

JimG,
Thanks for your input :birthday:
I was just going by what the back of the box said..
TT Basic. step by step
TT Deluxe. maximize your deductions
TT Premier. investments and rental property
TT Home & Business. sole proprietor & self employed

If I can get schedule C on TT Deluxe Thats Great :usflag:
I was wondering how I can lease or rent my home office to myself for a bigger deduction and things like that.


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#4 Landlocked Dive Nut

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Posted 11 March 2009 - 08:15 PM

Just depreciate the portion of your home/garage/outbuildings that you use solely for business, Bubski. That's your best bet, rather than getting into a complex lease situation. I think to do the lease, you may have to have a separate tax identity for the business, not a sole proprietorship. Not 100% positive on that issue, though! Things change from year to year these days.....
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#5 Racer184

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Posted 12 March 2009 - 04:56 AM

...Just depreciate the portion of your home/garage/outbuildings that you use solely for business, ......


Depends on what state you live in and what kind of business you are in.

Here in Florida, I NEVER deduct my office space or office equipment from Federal income. If I did, then it would be subject to Florida property taxes and would cost me much much more than I would save on Fed tax.

#6 Landlocked Dive Nut

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Posted 12 March 2009 - 06:59 AM

Good point! Here in MO, and in our neighbor state KS, you pay property taxes on everything anyway so it's not even a consideration in this situation here.

I believe that's also the case in AR where Bubski is, because we have a store there and I have to list everything, right down to the staplers and copy paper, on the property tax return each year.
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#7 peterbj7

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Posted 12 March 2009 - 07:14 AM

What does "property" mean then? In Britain it means what you mean as "realty". It seems strange that you should have to produce a full asset listing each year, as I'm sure limited companies don't do that.

#8 Bubble2Bubble

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Posted 12 March 2009 - 08:39 AM

Tammy your right about Ar, Everything is listed as commercial or personal property even funiture, decks and vacum cleaners.

Peterbj,
I think in most states it goes like this
1. real property aka land and buildings
2. commercial personal property aka computers, decks, fax machine, fax paper, trucks and cars, diving barge, diving equipment etc..
3. personal property aka tv, bed, wash machine, stove and frig etc..

Until two years ago my taxes where so complicated because of having employees with withholding taxes like unemployment, workmans compansation, fica etc.. that I had no choice but to hire a accountant service. I restructured my business and brought it home a few years ago and Turbo Tax software is just enough for me to handle but I need to read into the forms and read the instructions like JimG recomended and get any other tips on the TT software I can or learn more about other software companies that can do the job.

Mike
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#9 peterbj7

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Posted 12 March 2009 - 12:05 PM

Do you know of any authoritative but readable stand-alone texts that I can use to get myself reasonably up to speed with US taxation? My background is as a Chartered Accountant in the UK. I'm setting up in practice in Belize, and since many people here have to account for their taxes to the US it behoves me to know something about it.

#10 Landlocked Dive Nut

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Posted 12 March 2009 - 12:33 PM

Do you know of any authoritative but readable stand-alone texts that I can use to get myself reasonably up to speed with US taxation?


I gotta laugh at the idea of a stand-alone text on US income taxation. Sorry Peter, but the US Tax Code would literally fill 2 floor-to-ceiling bookshelves! When working for a CPA firm here in the US, we subscribed to a Tax Code library service, and they would send us weekly updates.....remove this page out of this volume & insert the new one.....a never-ending chore!

For your purposes, I think that getting a good handle on the 1040 Form (instructions & form available at www.irs.gov) and the standard schedules typical to the 1040 would be sufficient. Nice thing is, you're intelligent & you understand the terminology for the most part, although US terms may vary slightly from what you studied in England. If you follow the line-by-line instructions on the standard tax forms, you should be able to do good work!

If any expats in Belize still need to do State income taxes due to income deriving from a particular State in the US, the forms & instructions are typically found online, too. It can get complex if there is more than one state involved.....

You can PM me if you can't find a particular tax authority online, and I'll try to find it for you.
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#11 Bubble2Bubble

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Posted 12 March 2009 - 12:38 PM

Peter try this link IRS.Gov

I hope this helps


Ooops I see Tammy has already posted some info but I'll hit Add Reply button anyway :D
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#12 peterbj7

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Posted 12 March 2009 - 04:11 PM

Thanks both. I'll look at them next week, after I've completed the move out of my house here in Oxford. In Britain we do have standard texts which go a long way towards what I said, although you have to know quite a bit about it first. They're independent publications and pretty pricey, but they're sufficiently authoritative that they can usually be relied on and quoted from in Court

I was looking for an appropriate emoticon for the comment that I'm intelligent, something like a monkey bouncing up and down on his knuckles, but sadly there isn't one.

Edited by peterbj7, 12 March 2009 - 04:14 PM.


#13 Racer184

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Posted 12 March 2009 - 08:17 PM

We have to deal with Federal taxes... consistent across the U.S.A., but 19 feet thick and changing monthly.
Of course then there is "social security tax" of 15% and the 'medicare tax" of a couple percent. Some states don't make the employees pay 'social security tax'.

Some states have state income tax.
Some states have state real estate tax
Some states let you deduct you sales taxes for the year from your income taxes.
Some states have personal property tax (the picture hanging on your wall and the dishes in your cupboard).
Some states have business property tax.....
Some cities have income tax.
Some cities have business property tax
Some cities have personal property tax.
Some counties have income tax.
And I had to pay a 15% tax on my water (gross bill, not just the water) last year because people in our county cut back on water usage when we were asked.... (yes, they taxed us 15% of the GROSS because we conserved water).

Then there are 'taxing districts'...... so two families within the same incorporated city may have different tax rates because one family may have a sea-wall.

I sell telephone service. There are over 550 different LOCAL tax rates for telephone service in Florida. There is also the state 'gross receipts tax' on everybody... plus add in the state tax for any business line....(Business pay additional taxes over individuals. I have to file an 18 page tax return every month).

Then there are sales taxes, service taxes, lease taxes, excise taxes,

I think the accountants like keeping it complicated.

When I lived on the left coast of Florida they have a sign tax. So when a restaraunt wants to put the menu for the day in the window they have to buy the sign-tax stamp.

Don't forget 'advance disposal fee' taxes and disposal fee taxes on batteries and tires.

Oh... I don't fish so I forgot about the fishing equipment tax.
And I bought aluminum wire for an antenna and got into a discussion with the shop because they said they had to charge me the 'hazardous waste tax' because you can use the wire in TIG/MIG welding of aluminum and therefore it had to pay that tax.

And I just saw a sign in the store telling me that April 1st the total price of cigars will go up 57.5% "for the children" tax.

Anyway...
What I meant is that my chair and lamp and desk and curtains in the window are not subject to Florida property tax because I would have them in my home even if I did not run a business from home. But if I deduct/depreciate etc any of that stuff then I have to pay the property tax on it. Which is why I get different answers from accountants on my truck... some say the business should own it and then I reimburse the business for personal use of the truck... others say I should keep it in my name and submit 'expense reports' to the business for mileage so that the truck will not be subject to the business property tax. I just paid the Florida state tax on the credit card machine.

If I had any employees I would have to pay the unemployment tax. :D

A big advantage right now to being a contractor is that I am getting quite busy again as no one wants to hire employees because they are afraid of nationalized healthcare taxes (and the ease with which they can terminate a contractor compared to firing an incompetent jerk idiot thief and then risk getting sued)

If you aint confused, please explain it to the rest of us :-)

I am curious about Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands etc, which are not states.... I have been told that they do not pay federal income taxes, however they have other taxes to make up for it (commonwealth??? ). Confusing to me because the District of Columbia (which includes the city of Washington) is not a state either but they DO pay federal income taxes.

Extra credit.... did people in Hawaii and Alaska pay federal income taxes before they became states? (Only two states I can think of that became states after the income tax constitutional amendment.)

All of which reminds me that I have to pay my annual $150 state tax for having a business. (The $45 county business tax is not due until September.)

Edited by Racer184, 12 March 2009 - 08:29 PM.


#14 peterbj7

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Posted 13 March 2009 - 03:07 AM

It may sound strange if I say that I understand all that. It sounds absurdly complicated with so many varying strands, but it doesn't sound complex. It's just a question of KNOWING what the rules are in a particular case. How does this PC-based packaged software manage all this? - if all this can be programmed into such software then it can't be incomprehensible. Just very complicated. I would have thought that although there may be people who are experienced in dealing with all these issues and hence being able to help an individual, there can't be anyone who KNOWS out of his head how to do this - he has to have reference material. Presumably someone has compiled such a database, or maybe all the big accountancy firms have done their own. I know several US-qualified CPAs who I am confident are not competent to do this without external information sources that they will then rely on. I want to understand what those information sources are and how to use them.

Thanks Racer - your explanation has actually told me a lot.

#15 Landlocked Dive Nut

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Posted 13 March 2009 - 07:13 AM

Peter, most US-based CPA firms rely on the Tax Code Library Service, supplemented by a tax preparation software that will do the Federal and State taxes for them, mainly to speed up the task but also so they don't have to "know" all the varying State rules.

I currently do the taxes for the business I work for, which includes 4 different states & 8 different cities & counties. All the sales tax, property tax, occupational licenses, business licenses, etc. that Racer 184 mentions are all different, but come with instructions that are fairly simple to follow. They're just all a pain in the *@&%! and the costs add up, not just in taxes paid but in accountant fees paid.....

Which is all just job security for people like you & me! :respect:

Best of luck with your new business.
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