mel jacobson on wed 11 nov 09
others may join in here:
we have a clayart tax expert named hellman, hillman, billamn or some such n=
ame.
she is a smarty pants. listen to her.
but,
here are a few things i do.
decks are deductible, i use them for shows.
flower boxes and flowers each spring on the deck, we use them for shows.
all new tools.
new equipment.
anything we buy, we add to the deduct box.
our gas bill is shared with the pottery.
the electric bill is shared with the pottery.
when i was audited last...we agreed with the agent
to go half and half. her idea, not mine.
have done that for now 40 years.
deduction is a matter of opinion. if you get audited you
have your records, and you argue. i often win.
if you cheat, they have you nailed.
it may be in your best interest to form an LLC. you can do
it online. easy. and, not expensive. it is natural for taxes,
and protects your family and home.
my ridatick company is a simple LLC, i am sole owner.
my start up money for that LLC is all deductible.
all my attorney's fees are added to that pile. (patent)
i could never have done this without deductions.
stay in the law...have my tax guy check everything. he is a dear
friend, and he works within the law, as most of them do.
he is a gem.
i have been audited twice. full deal. walked away clean
as a whistle. it takes time, but now they leave me alone.
two clean audits. they were happy, i was happy. the price
of democracy. i had a couple of red flags/they acted.
they were wrong. long story.
starting ridatick is like getting a ph.d. in business. it has been an
amazing journey...and i have loved every bit of it. you see why
many small business people hate government. they get killed all the
time. but, you have to work hard, keep your head down and keep
working. things start to pay off at some point. or, you go broke.
or, as tony's neighbor found out...they shut you down/ almost like
murder.
the best thing any potter can do is show a profit. you cannot keep
claiming loss, year after year. that is a huge red flag.
i pay taxes on my profit. and try to deduct as much as i can.
then we all win. cash and trade is still a very gray area. the tax
people all understand that. if you are prudent, it is ok. if maydoff
can work it for years...well. it is frightful what people do. but, in the
end...many pay a huge price for fraud.
we are small fries...baby salmon in a big river. but, we cannot claim
to be ignorant artists. that is not a defense. you have to be smart
crafts people and artists. be aware, be smart, get informed. it pays
you back big time. if you are waiting for a big grant, or free money...good
luck. 99 percent of money made in art comes from a quality
artist/crafts person
working and doing his or her own business. it does pay for many...big time=
.
i have a buddy attorney... he will tell you all, if you are waiting for a
big settlement in a case with an insurance company, like an auto
accident...he says `keep your job, keep working, get well, and then
see what happens. it may be 1/10th of what you expect. or, it may
be nothing.` it is like waiting for the lottery...it never comes.
mel
quality advice from an expert, and then taking that advice is always
the best of all worlds. many never figure that out.
`honey, what did the neighbor tell us to do with this deduction?`
from: minnetonka, mn
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
new book: http://www.21stcenturykilns.com
Bonnie Hellman on wed 11 nov 09
I earn my living as a CPA (since 1982) preparing individual and business ta=
x
returns. What Mel has written is true, but I would caution others to NOT
follow his advice "just because Mel says it."
Each of us needs to fully understand why those things that are true for
Mel's situation, might also apply to your situation, or might not apply to
your situation.
Phrased another way, each CPA spends hours each year taking continuing
education classes, hopefully in the areas where each of us practices. That
is my requirement to maintain my CPA license in CO & PA. In addition, I rea=
d
a lot and spend 4 8-hour days a year taking classes in business and
individual tax updates.
What is allowed and what might be allowed and what is definitely not
allowed, and how to handle the items on a tax return is constantly being
changed by our legislators. (I jokingly call those laws the CPA Full
Employment Acts. )
I have a lot of ceramics people around the US as clients, in addition to
non-ceramics people. I am serious about ceramics myself and credit this
listserv with all the smarty-pants on it as providing my education since
1996, maybe earlier. Each person's tax situation is different, and it would
be a mistake for people to depend on any other person's
deductions/income/tax forms because those choices might not be best for you=
.
I would urge people to consult with their own tax advisors about their own
tax situations. There are potentially a number of things that can be
deducted and must be included on a tax return, but each person needs advice
for his/her own situation, particularly about the type of documentation
required to stand up to an audit.
I hope that you are not audited, because it is very time consuming, but
sometimes there are ways to avoid an audit, although sometimes not.
I have a book on order that should arrive soon is all about social security
and Medicare. This is for my information, not for continuing education
credit. I am headed to Tucson next week for 2 days of continuing education
in tax updates.
Bonnie
Bonnie D. Hellman, CPA
Ouray, CO 81427
Email: mou10ms at frontier dot net
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of mel jacobson
Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 3:37 PM
To: Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: taxes part two
others may join in here:
we have a clayart tax expert named hellman, hillman, billamn or some such
name.
she is a smarty pants. listen to her.
but,
here are a few things i do.
decks are deductible, i use them for shows.
flower boxes and flowers each spring on the deck, we use them for shows.
all new tools.
new equipment.
anything we buy, we add to the deduct box.
our gas bill is shared with the pottery.
the electric bill is shared with the pottery.
when i was audited last...we agreed with the agent
to go half and half. her idea, not mine.
have done that for now 40 years.
deduction is a matter of opinion. if you get audited you
have your records, and you argue. i often win.
if you cheat, they have you nailed.
it may be in your best interest to form an LLC. you can do
it online. easy. and, not expensive. it is natural for taxes,
and protects your family and home.
my ridatick company is a simple LLC, i am sole owner.
my start up money for that LLC is all deductible.
all my attorney's fees are added to that pile. (patent)
i could never have done this without deductions.
stay in the law...have my tax guy check everything. he is a dear
friend, and he works within the law, as most of them do.
he is a gem.
i have been audited twice. full deal. walked away clean
as a whistle. it takes time, but now they leave me alone.
two clean audits. they were happy, i was happy. the price
of democracy. i had a couple of red flags/they acted.
they were wrong. long story.
starting ridatick is like getting a ph.d. in business. it has been an
amazing journey...and i have loved every bit of it. you see why
many small business people hate government. they get killed all the
time. but, you have to work hard, keep your head down and keep
working. things start to pay off at some point. or, you go broke.
or, as tony's neighbor found out...they shut you down/ almost like
murder.
the best thing any potter can do is show a profit. you cannot keep
claiming loss, year after year. that is a huge red flag.
i pay taxes on my profit. and try to deduct as much as i can.
then we all win. cash and trade is still a very gray area. the tax
people all understand that. if you are prudent, it is ok. if maydoff
can work it for years...well. it is frightful what people do. but, in the
end...many pay a huge price for fraud.
we are small fries...baby salmon in a big river. but, we cannot claim
to be ignorant artists. that is not a defense. you have to be smart
crafts people and artists. be aware, be smart, get informed. it pays
you back big time. if you are waiting for a big grant, or free money...good
luck. 99 percent of money made in art comes from a quality
artist/crafts person
working and doing his or her own business. it does pay for many...big time=
.
i have a buddy attorney... he will tell you all, if you are waiting for a
big settlement in a case with an insurance company, like an auto
accident...he says `keep your job, keep working, get well, and then
see what happens. it may be 1/10th of what you expect. or, it may
be nothing.` it is like waiting for the lottery...it never comes.
mel
quality advice from an expert, and then taking that advice is always
the best of all worlds. many never figure that out.
`honey, what did the neighbor tell us to do with this deduction?`
from: minnetonka, mn
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
new book: http://www.21stcenturykilns.com
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