Don’t Miss These Tax Deductions On Your Return

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Our goal is to help your business any way we can. As lenders who also prepare taxes, we want to make sure you’re taking advantage of all the tax deductions available to Realtors. See below for some ideas.....
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As a Realtor, your income is likely 100% commission...and that income is probably paid to you without taxes taken out...that is, until you prepare your tax return.
 
That tax return will then decide what you owe the IRS, the State, and “self-employment” taxes.
 
So it pays to know how you can reduce that taxable income. Below are some deductions that are common for Realtors. These are in addition to those you may find on our Business Owner Checklist.
 
1)   Business Use of Vehicle (mileage) – big deduction for Realtors!
      a.   Click here for a helpful worksheet
      b.   Click here for a mileage log
      c.   Click here for an article we wrote on deducting your vehicle

2)   Advertising
      a.   Yard Signs
      b.   Banners
      c.   Magazine Ads
      d.   Property Flyers

3)   Dues, Membership, Licensure
      a.   MLS Dues
      b.   Realtor Memberships
      c.   BRE License
      d.   Continuing Education, Seminars
      e.   Chamber of Commerce

4)   Listings Expenses
      a.   Open Houses
      b.   Lock Boxes
      c.   Camera/Video Equipment
      d.   Home Inspections
      e.   Appraisals
      f.   Credit Reports

5)   Utilities
      a.   Cell phone
      b.   Internet

6)   Supplies
      a.   Business Cards
      b.   Brochures
      c.   Stationary

7)   Home Office
      a.   Click here for a helpful worksheet

8)   Courier Service
      a.   Messenger
      b.   FedEx, UPS, etc.

9)   Protection
      a.   E & O Insurance
      b.   Attorney/Legal Fees

10) Tax Preparation/Accounting
      a.   TIP: Put this on your Schedule C, not Schedule A

HOW YOU CAN USE THIS:
Be sure to include the above expenses on your tax return to minimize your tax liability. There are enough legal deductions to help you avoid taxes so you don’t have to evade them!

NOTE: We have several client tax worksheets to help you with documenting these expenses. Click here to access these worksheets.

You may also want to check out some of the following articles from our Personal Finance Blog:

• What you need to know about the home office tax deduction
• The tax deductibility of work “uniforms”
• Be careful how you handle 1099-MISC’s
• Home office deduction changes for 2013...dirty IRS trick?
• 10 tips small business owners must implement

Contact us if you, or any of your clients have questions related to income taxes...we’re here to help!