With a little creativity and stellar bookkeeping, you can make the job of figuring out taxes a whole lot easier. Here are a few tips to make the tax process easier, and a couple of ways you might consider to save some money in the end:
The cost of doing business - Keep the receipts for anything that you have to spend money on related to running your business. This means everything from the gas in your vehicle (usually calculated with a set mileage amount), to production costs, right to the professional advice you seek for helping you with your taxes. These are all costs related to your craft show business and building your crafts, and they can be deducted from the overall gross income you have made during the year.
Hire a professional - Whether you hire a tax accountant, or a tax lawyer to provide you with the guidelines for calculating and filing your taxes - they will provide you with a wealth of knowledge and expertise to help you keep as much money in your pocket and out of the greedy grasp of the tax man. Most professionals are not going to charge you a fortune, and can often find numerous ways to help you lower your overall tax bill.
When in doubt, keep track of it - You don't always know the ways that your tax accountant can help you. If you are wondering about whether you can claim a certain expense for your craft show business, then you should probably err on the side of caution. This way, you aren't going to kick yourself for something that could have saved you more money.
Be diligent in your records - It is important to put yourself in the same mindset to save money as you are in to make it: that means the little things count. If you blow off one craft show expense because you think it is minimal, imagine if you did that 4 times per month - that's nearly 50 times per year! All of those 'little' craft show expenses can amount to a lot of savings at the end of the year!
Who enjoys paying taxes on their small business? No one! That's why you need to take this part of running your craft show business as serious as you would the money making part. By being prepared, and knowing how you can limit the amount you are required to give back to the government - through good accounting and knowledge of the claims you can make as a business owner - you are going to save yourself a great deal of money at the end of the year.
Natalie Goyette shows you how to make your craft show business profitable in her best selling ebook: Craft Show Success Secrets. Visit her site: [craftshowsuccess.com parked domain].
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