The IRS Website- Small Business Expenses

Save Time Searching the Internet and Click the Link Below

Nov 10, 2009

The IRS has invested a lot of time into posting information on its website to assist taxpayers in learning what business expenses are deductible.

A trick of the trade for a tax professional in a super hurry is to Google the tax subject and then select the IRS link that rises to the top of the Google search. The IRS website is very large. The entire Internal Revenue Manual (their in-house training and instructions) is posted on their website. Learning to use their advanced search options is helpful, but can still be a time-consuming endeavor. There are 15 areas into which a taxpayer can narrow their search for information on the IRS website.

Most Taxpayers Do Not Know About the Business Section of the IRS Website

The IRS has a series of Small Business Video and Audio Presentations pertinent to many current tax issues. The page can be found at this link and speaks for itself. There are topics including business income, canceled debt, recordkeeping, closing a business, employment taxes, employing family members, the IRS collection process, online auctions—to list a few. These presentations are well-done and when possible (if not limited by the complexity of the topic), very complete.

On this page also is a link to the “Small Business Tax Workshop Video.” This is a good video, and in conjunction with the other videos on this page plus a taxpayer’s consultation with its tax professional, should give many a small business owner (self-employed or corporate) a good basis for knowing what is needed to keep the records organized and claim their legitimate deductions.

Finding Other Information Relating to Self-Employment on the IRS Website

Reading the menu bar of this busy website is helpful. Underneath the IRS logo in the upper left corner there is a ribbon-type menu. It starts with “Individuals,” followed by “Businesses.” Using this menu bar can save a searcher time.

Once the searcher (or taxpayer) clicks “Businesses” on the ribbon menu, a set of business types appears immediately below. Then also notice on the left that there are several other links within the website, relating to topics that may be of interest to small business owners.

The Taxpayer Is Responsible for the Veracity of Its Federal Income Tax Return.

Learning how to find relevant information on the IRS website is an art because of the size of the website. Learning how to zoom in on the topics of interest to a business taxpayer can be very helpful to a taxpayer in expanding upon the knowledge it gains from short articles on the Internet.

The copyright of the article The IRS Website- Small Business Expenses in Small/Home Business is owned by Jeannine Silkey. Permission to republish The IRS Website- Small Business Expenses in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.