You can feel overwhelmed when you search our archive library for tax reduction strategies that apply to the self-employed.
For example, a search today will yield more than 263 strategy articles with the words “self-employed” or “self-employment.” That’s a lot.
Where do we start?
Now, instead of feeling overwhelmed by the more than 263 possible tax reduction strategies, you can start with the 10 below:
- Use the Section 05 plan to make your health insurance a tax-favored business deduction on your Schedule C.
- Employ your under-age-18 child to make taxable income disappear.
- Employ your spouse without paying him or her a W-2 wage.
- Rent your office, even your home office, from your spouse to save self-employment taxes.
- Establish that an office in your home is your principal office to increase (yes, increase!) your vehicle deductions and also turn personal home expenses into business expenses.
- Give yourself flowers, fruit, and books as tax-deductible fringe benefits.
- Combine the home office and a heavy SUV, crossover vehicle, or pickup truck to grab big deductions this year.
- Design a business trip that includes some personal days—days you treat as 100 percent business even though you don’t work on those days.
- Use the seven-day tax deduction travel rule to create a business trip that is 87 percent personal vacation.
- Deduct your smartphone and provide smartphones to your employees as tax-free fringe benefits.
If one or more of these looks good to you, let’s talk about how to make them work.
