At RISMedia, we care about getting you the best advice in the business. That’s why we partnered with QuickBooks Self-Employed by Intuit®, the experts in finance management for independent contractors like real estate agents. Below are their top tips to make tax time easier.
Mileage:
- If you drive more than 10K miles a year, it’s likely you’ll get the biggest tax break if you claim the standard mileage deduction
- If you have especially high car payments, you’ll likely get more back if you claim the actual cost method.
- Did you know for every 1,000 miles driven, you’re eligible for $553 back in deductions.
- The IRS has pretty strict rules regarding how you document your business mileage. One way to make sure you are keeping careful account of each mile you drive for work is to use an automatic mileage tracker.
Home office:
- If you have a particularly large home office or live in a high-cost area, the regular method of expenses may yield the highest deduction.
- If you’re already claiming desk fees deductions, you can’t also deduct home office expenses.
- The standard home office deduction is $5 per square foot of the home used for business (maximum of 300 sq. ft.).
- Whether you’re taking home office or desk fee deductions, you can still claim office related expenses including: Stationary, photocopies, pens/pencils/staplers, and anything else you need to run your business.
Other Fun Facts:
- Planning to get your newest home owners a congratulatory gift? It must be under $25 if you’d like to claim the deduction
- If you maintain a balance on your business credit card, the interest rate is deductible as a business expense.
- The easiest way to keep your real estate income and expenses from getting mixed with your household budget is to create a separate business checking account.
- Many agents save receipts and enter them into spreadsheets but often this results in loss of receipts, and loss of deductions.
- Agents who set up separate business bank accounts can track their transactions easier, especially if they also use expense tracking software like QuickBooks Self-Employed.
QuickBooks Self-Employed helps real estate agents be more business savvy. Track your mileage automatically, record and store receipts, keep track of expenses, and deductions, and even know your profit and losses with the tap of a button. Try it free for 30 days
