#tax-deductions
Maximize tax deductions and reduce your tax liability legally
Tangible service or safety awards are tax-free under IRS rules up to $400, or $1,600 under a written plan; cash and gift cards count as taxable wages.
Employer cell phones are tax-free with no call logs under IRS Notice 2011-72 if provided for business reasons; internet needs an accountable plan and receipts.
US SaaS vendors face enterprise escrow demands. Self-service plans start near $139/month and traditional agents around $2,200 — negotiate release triggers and book setup, annual, and verification fees.
Section 170(e)(3) lets any business deduct donated food at cost plus half the markup, capped at twice cost — with a 15% net-income limit, a five-year carryover, and a Good Samaritan liability shield.
Section 179 recapture applies when business use drops to 50% or less in any recovery-period year: the clawback is ordinary income on Form 4797, Part IV.
Business casualty and theft losses skip the $100 and 10%-of-AGI floors, but are capped at adjusted basis, not replacement cost. How to measure the loss, handle insurance timing, and use the Section 165(i) prior-year election.
Custom wig studios can bill medical clients under HCPCS code A9282 as a cranial prosthesis instead of a cosmetic wig sale — with insurance-ready invoices, physician prescriptions that unlock sales-tax exemptions, IRS Publication 502 deductions for clients, and separate books for cosmetic and medical revenue.
Oil and gas lease bonuses, delay rentals, and royalties are all ordinary income reported on Schedule E — but royalties qualify for 15% percentage depletion that can continue after your basis hits zero. How each payment is taxed, where it goes on your return, and the state traps to avoid.
Extended your 2025 return? You can still open and fund a SEP IRA by October 15, 2026 (September 15 for S corps and partnerships) and deduct up to $70,000 — but Solo 401(k) elective deferrals for 2025 are gone for good.
Vault cash is a balance-sheet asset, not revenue — an ATM dispensing $12,000 a month may earn only a few hundred dollars in surcharge and interchange. This guide shows independent ATM operators the journal entries, the weekly three-way match between e-journal, processor settlement and physical count, the full per-machine cost stack, and why cash loads are never deductions.
GAAP requires the allowance method while the IRS requires direct write-off under Section 166, so most accrual-basis businesses run both and reconcile the difference. This guide gives the journal entries for each, three ways to estimate the reserve (percentage of credit sales, an aging schedule, specific identification), and the five collection KPIs — DSO, CEI, current-bucket share, bad debt to sales, and average days delinquent — that reveal when a reserve has drifted from reality.
Embroidery runs $1–$2.70 per 1,000 stitches and installed vinyl wraps $12–$20 per square foot — here is how a decoration shop builds those rates from real material and labor costs, tracks thread, blanks and film correctly, and expenses machines under Section 179 in 2026.
