Introduction
If you’re a professional, no one needs to tell you that taxes are one of your largest expenses. The best way to minimize your taxes and maximize your take-home income is to take advantage of every tax deduction available to you.
This book, the first of its kind, is about tax deductions for all types of professionals, including:
- accountants
- architects
- chiropractors
- consultants
- dentists
- doctors
- engineers
- lawyers
- marriage and family therapists
- optometrists
- pharmacists
- psychologists, and
- veterinarians.
Specially tailored for the unique needs of professionals, it shows you how you can deduct all or most of your business expenses from your federal taxes—everything from advertising to vehicle depreciation. It can be used by professionals who work by themselves, or by those involved in a group practice—whether you are a sole proprietor, or are involved in a professional corporation, a partnership, or an LLC.
Now more than ever you’ll need guidance when it comes to understanding your taxes. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the most sweeping change to the tax code in over 30 years, went into effect in 2018. We explain the new tax law and how it affects business deductions for professionals including:
- new individual and corporate tax rates (see Chapter 1)
- the new 20% tax deduction for pass-through business owners, which includes many professionals (see Chapter 4)
- changes to depreciation rules allowing faster write-offs of business property, including vehicles (see Chapters 5 and 6), and
- the elimination of deductions for business-related entertainment and certain meals (see Chapter 13).
Even if you work with an accountant or another tax professional, you need to learn about tax deductions. No tax professional will ever know as much about your business as you do. The information in this book will help you provide your tax professional with better records, ask better questions, obtain better advice—and, just as importantly, evaluate the advice you get from tax professionals, websites, and other sources.
If you do your taxes yourself (as more and more small business owners are doing), your need for knowledge is even greater. Not even the most sophisticated tax preparation program can decide which tax deductions you should take or tell you whether you’ve overlooked a valuable deduction. This book can be your legal companion, providing practical advice and information so that you can rest assured that you are not paying more to the IRS than you need to.
