Dec 21 2017
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Fact Sheet: Tax Breaks for Small Businesses

By qSdCcPjb

Knowing the right tax breaks to take for your small business can help ease the pain a bit come tax season and give you a leg-up on the competition. When we provide business consulting and tax planning services here at Steiner Business Solutions, one of our goals is to open the eyes of our clients to the world of available deductions they can take. We’ve rounded up a few here to help get you started on saving money come tax time. Self-Employment Tax If you’re self-employed, listen up. All employees, whether self-employed or employed by a business, pay Social Security taxes and Medicare taxes. But when you’re self-employed, you’re responsible for both pieces of the pie: the half paid by the employee, and the half typically paid by the business. This is known as the self-employment tax. While that may be discouraging, there is a bright spot. You can deduct the portion of your self-employment tax that an employer would typically pay. Advertising When you’ve got a small business, getting the word out is crucial. Advertising fees tend to add up quickly as you purchase ads in print and online, snag a few radio spots, print business cards, and create an eye-catching website. Some businesses also hold conferences and seminars to gain facetime with new and potential clients. If you’re just starting out, you’ve likely spent a good deal getting your branding together in the first place, from your logo to slogans and graphics. The costs associated with all this…

Nov 21 2017
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How to Choose the Right Tax Planner & Advisor for Your Business

By qSdCcPjb

Taxes are part and parcel of doing business. And when something is so common and so expected, a funny thing happens—we tend to underestimate it. Business owners spend years refining their vision, honing their pitch, and hiring the people they need to succeed. But when it comes time to plan for taxes, more often than not, they take the “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it” approach. After all, there’s that family friend that’s a tax consultant and preparer, right? And they did their personal taxes that one time, so how hard could it be to do business tax preparation? But even that may be more thought than the typical business owner gives to their business taxes. The reality is, it’s simply not a concern—until it is. But that hands-off approach doesn’t affect how important taxes are. Mistakes cost money, and so do missed opportunities. Sometimes it’s mistakes like these that lead business owners to seek out tax preparation services. Other times, it’s the realization that they’re spending more time in front of tax preparation software than they are speaking with customers. If you’re reading this post, it likely means that you’ve deemed it the right time to seek out such services for your business. So what should you consider when choosing the right tax planner or advisor to work with? Understanding your business and what you need from a tax professional is key. Do you simply need help with taxes? Do your needs run deeper than that? Are you looking for assistance setting up…

Oct 24 2017
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5​ ​Tax​ ​Strategies​ ​to​ ​Save​ ​Your​ ​Small​ ​Business​ ​Money

By qSdCcPjb

If you’re a small business owner it’s important to understand tax deductions. Read on to learn more about the ways in which you can get your ducks in a row before tax time rolls around, and to keep more money in your pocket. 1) Work from home? Deduct household expenses. Whether you work from home full-time or part-time, you can deduct a portion of your everyday living expenses on your taxes. The key here is to have a dedicated section of your home that functions as an office. Unfortunately, if you work at the kitchen table or have a small desk in the guest room, you won’t be able to count either of these as a “home office.” But a spare room dedicated solely to your business will do the trick. From there, you may be able to deduct a percentage of your mortgage interest, insurance, utility bills, and even home repairs. 2) You can deduct auto expenses too. If you use your car in your line of work, whether directly or to drive to meetings, then car expenses can also make their way to your tax deductions. There are two ways to do this. Deducting actual car expenses, such as gas, repairs, and insurance, will require you to calculate what percentage of your vehicle usage was for your business, and work out the deduction amounts from there. It may be simpler to use the standard mileage rate, where you multiply the number of miles you’ve driven for business by…