Courtesy of Fortune for Small Businesses - Top Tax Tips for Keeping Cash today!
#1 - Net Operating Loss carry-back. Most people know you can carry forward losses to offset future year gains, but if you took a beating this year -- or just over expanded and have a loss -- you can amend a prior year's return carrying back your loss and get a refund on previous tax payments, plus your refund from this year. More cash now, instead of waiting to Spring 10 to carry forward the 08 loss
#2 - Accelerate write-offs/Depreciation. If you bought any equipment this year, you can file a Sec. 179 to write off 100% of the value in 08, up to the amount of any profit. So you can make a profitable (taxable) year into a $0 year, and no taxes are due. If you have a loss, you can't do a 179, but you can bonus depreciate 50% of any asset purchased last year, making an even bigger loss. Then see Tax tip #1
#3 - Dud inventory credit -- selling CDs or cava extract may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but that $1000 you put into inventory is still $900 worth of inventory gathering dust. Donate it to a charity that will put it to use (you can't give the CDs to the Mennonite Church down the road that believes electronics are evil) and you can take the original purchase price as a deduction.
The new president has declared war on entreprenuers, so grab these deductions while you can, before they are phased out in the name of "fairness"
#1 - Net Operating Loss carry-back. Most people know you can carry forward losses to offset future year gains, but if you took a beating this year -- or just over expanded and have a loss -- you can amend a prior year's return carrying back your loss and get a refund on previous tax payments, plus your refund from this year. More cash now, instead of waiting to Spring 10 to carry forward the 08 loss
#2 - Accelerate write-offs/Depreciation. If you bought any equipment this year, you can file a Sec. 179 to write off 100% of the value in 08, up to the amount of any profit. So you can make a profitable (taxable) year into a $0 year, and no taxes are due. If you have a loss, you can't do a 179, but you can bonus depreciate 50% of any asset purchased last year, making an even bigger loss. Then see Tax tip #1
#3 - Dud inventory credit -- selling CDs or cava extract may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but that $1000 you put into inventory is still $900 worth of inventory gathering dust. Donate it to a charity that will put it to use (you can't give the CDs to the Mennonite Church down the road that believes electronics are evil) and you can take the original purchase price as a deduction.
The new president has declared war on entreprenuers, so grab these deductions while you can, before they are phased out in the name of "fairness"