Question If someone uses their PC for work what tax advice would you give them?

[JunaeBenne]

It's Tax Season again! It feels like it comes and goes so quickly and especially in a panorama. Since a lot of people are working from home there have been more demands for PC upgrades. BUT! Interestingly enough, since the Tax Cut and Job Act you can't really claim things like a gaming chair, a new graphics card, your internet. So what would you tell anyone working from home as a content creator or freelance who relies heavily on technology & services like the internet, antivirus, etc.

Mine is, use a free tax service that gives you audit defense so if you do something wrong, it's not totally on you and have some type of protection.

 

[Brian Boru]

what would you tell anyone working from home as a content creator or freelance

If you're in USA or Canada, get Turbo Tax Home & Business—set it up to ask you questions at every step. It's ~$80, which imo is very cheap for what it does—it will do one state tax return for free, as well as federal.

Things are different for an employee working at home, eg due to covid. But if you're a freelancer / contractor type, then you can claim a portion of all relevant expenses against your taxes—computers, chairs, internet, utilities etc.

 

[JunaeBenne]

If you're in USA or Canada, get Turbo Tax Home & Business—set it up to ask you questions at every step. It's ~$80, which imo is very cheap for what it does—it will do one state tax return for free, as well as federal.

Things are different for an employee working at home, eg due to covid. But if you're a freelancer / contractor type, then you can claim a portion of all relevant expenses against your taxes—computers, chairs, internet, utilities etc.

I think it's hard to know what you can & can claim as a freelancer. I've been researching and it seems you can claim a portion of something like your rent or pc parts & not the whole thing. Or something like that. I'm still researching.

 

[JunaeBenne]

Just deduct your "consulting" fee. That is what all the corporations do. What was that fee for? consulting, what does that mean? No one does.. outside of you get to deduct it.

Sounds...promising LOL

 

[Zloth]

I think it's hard to know what you can & can claim....

Ummm, I think you're approaching this a bit too one-sidedly...

 

[Brian Boru]

it seems you can claim a portion of something like your rent or pc parts & not the whole thing

That is correct. GF & I run a small biz from home & we claim 10% of house for office—so 10% of rent or mortgage, 10% of utilities, etc.
We charge 50% of our tech—PCs, phones etc—and I forget what % of the car.
Of course, you label a gaming chair as an office chair, you don't want to confuse the poor guys at IRS.

file using what ever form they require

'Schedule C', most likely.

it might be easier to do it yourself

Hmm, I wouldn't say "easier". You have to research all the changes in the federal AND local laws since last year—assuming of course you already knew both sets last year—and you have to do that every year. USA tax code is one of the worst in the advanced world for the payers.

double check things with a program

I recommend other way around—use specialized software with a proven track record as the primary, and use manual checking as the secondary backup.

 

[JunaeBenne]

I guess i'm old school, unless the software is free i'd rather just start with paying someone 50-100 bucks to do it/help/give me tips.

I got a good doctor, but a good account/business friend is always a good thing. Now, if they would close the friggin loop holes and people didn't need a PHD to just do your taxes this would be a lot easier for the masses.

I think the problem is finding someone who is trustworthy for 50-100 bucks. I think you have to gamble with that part. I remember I did my own taxes and I just wanted someone to look over it. And I went to an accountant and he told he is either going to do my taxes or not do them. He won't give advice. Then he raised the price on my when I taxes came in and I was livid.

 

[Zloth]

Be careful with that tax man!

View: https://youtu.be/HHqviF-Th-k

 

[mjs warlord]

you could ask a savvy accountant how best to do this , forget things like chairs and individual items such as cards , you could argue that if you had not got to work from home you would not be using the equipment and software packages your using , you would be working for somebody else and using theres

Be wary of emails from tax authorities , over here in england a pal of mine got an email saying claim tax refund , her husband is self employed , she asked me if it was genuine so i just .... have you ever given the tax office your email address ..... she said no so i just replied you have answered your own question.

 

[ZedClampet]

You don't want to know how I'd do it. My wife won't let me do the taxes anymore because she's afraid of jail. Wimp.

The easiest thing to do is to is to not worry about your PC or your rent and suddenly remember the $20,000 worth of clothing you gave to charity.

Oh, wait. I said don't listen to me.