{"id":700,"date":"2016-08-03T14:48:28","date_gmt":"2016-08-03T14:48:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/?p=700"},"modified":"2016-08-03T14:48:28","modified_gmt":"2016-08-03T14:48:28","slug":"lock-in-those-business-deductions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/2016\/08\/lock-in-those-business-deductions\/","title":{"rendered":"Lock In Those Business Deductions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/89136725-3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-medium wp-image-701 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/89136725-3-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Itemized Personal\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/89136725-3-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/89136725-3.jpg 724w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>If you run a small business, you already have a full plate. The last thing you need is for\u00a0the IRS to question any of your business expense deductions. But it could happen. And\u00a0that\u2019s why having records that prove your expenses is so important. Even deductions for\u00a0routine business expenses could be disallowed if you don\u2019t have appropriate records.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What Records Are Required?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Except in a few instances, the tax law does not require any special kind of records. You\u2019re\u00a0free to have a recordkeeping system that is suited to your business, as long as it clearly\u00a0shows your expenses. In addition to books that allow you to track and summarize your\u00a0business transactions, you should keep supporting documents, such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Canceled checks<\/li>\n<li>Cash register receipts<\/li>\n<li>Credit card sales slips<\/li>\n<li>Invoices<\/li>\n<li>Account statements<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The rules are stricter for travel, entertainment, and transportation expenses. You should\u00a0retain hotel bills or other documentary evidence (e.g., receipts, canceled checks) for each\u00a0lodging expense and for any other expense of $75 or more. In addition, you should\u00a0maintain a diary, log, or account book with the information described below.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Travel.<\/strong> Your records should show the cost of each separate expense for travel, lodging, and meals. For each trip, record your destination, the dates you left and returned, and the\u00a0number of days spent on business. Also record the business purpose for the expense or the business benefit you gained or expected to gain. Incidental expenses, such as taxi\u00a0fares, may be totaled in reasonable categories.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Entertainment.<\/strong> Record the date the entertainment took place and the amount of each\u00a0separate expense, along with the name and address or location of the place of\u00a0entertainment. Note the business purpose for the expense or the business benefit you\u00a0gained or expected to gain and the nature of any business discussion or activity that took\u00a0place. Also list the identities and occupations of the individuals you were entertaining or other information that indicates their business relationship to you.<\/p>\n<p>If the entertainment was directly before or after a business discussion, be sure to indicate the date, place, nature, and duration of the discussion and the individuals who took part in\u00a0both the discussion and the entertainment activity. For a business meal, you must prove\u00a0that either you or your employee was present.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Transportation.<\/strong> As with travel and entertainment, you should record the amount and date of each separate expense. Note your business destination and the business purpose\u00a0for the expense. If you are deducting actual car expenses, you\u2019ll need to record the cost\u00a0of the car and the date you started using it for business (for depreciation purposes). If you\u00a0drive the car for both business and personal purposes or claim the standard mileage rate,\u00a0keep records of the mileage for each business use and the total miles driven during the\u00a0year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Don\u2019t Mix Business and Personal Expenses<\/strong><br \/>\nThings can get tangled if you intermingle business and personal expenses. You can avoid\u00a0headaches by having a separate business bank account and credit card.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you run a small business, you already have a full plate. The last thing you need is for\u00a0the IRS to question any of your business expense deductions. But it could happen. And\u00a0that\u2019s why having records that prove your expenses is so important. Even deductions for\u00a0routine business expenses could be disallowed if you don\u2019t have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-700","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=700"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":702,"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700\/revisions\/702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}