Can You Take the Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction? If you're self-employed and pay for your own health insurance, you may have access to a valuable tax deduction. (How Do Owners of S Corporations Deduct Their Health Insurance?) The self-employed health insurance deduction can reduce your adjusted gross income dollar for dollar. You don't have to...Continue reading
If you own one business, calculating your Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction can already get complicated. Own two or three businesses? Now you have another question: Does the IRS calculate the QBI deduction separately for each business, or can you combine them? The answer can potentially make a significant difference in your tax bill. Section...Continue reading
Can My Spouse Use My Home Office and Still Qualify for the Deduction? You have a legitimate home office that you use to run your business. Then your spouse sits down at your desk to pay some personal bills. Or maybe your spouse works from home occasionally and uses your office. Perhaps you have a...Continue reading
You bought a house with plans to renovate it, sell it and make a profit. Instead, renovation costs climbed, carrying costs added up, the real estate market changed - or all three happened at once. By the time you sold the property, your profitable house flip had become a loss. Can you deduct the loss?...Continue reading
Many rental property owners are surprised when they discover they can't deduct all of their rental losses each year. Instead, those losses are often classified as passive losses and carried forward until the IRS allows you to use them. The good news is that these deductions usually aren't lost forever. In many cases, selling your...Continue reading
When most business owners hear "Research & Development Tax Credit," they picture pharmaceutical companies, technology giants, or billion-dollar manufacturers. The reality is very different. Thousands of small and mid-sized businesses qualify for the Research & Development (R&D) Tax Credit every year without realizing it. If your business develops new products, improves manufacturing processes, designs custom...Continue reading
If your business buys products to resell or purchases materials that become part of the work you perform, you've probably heard that you can't deduct those costs until the inventory is sold. While that was generally true for many years, today's tax rules give many small businesses much more flexibility than they realize. In fact,...Continue reading
One of the biggest misconceptions about the home office deduction is that you need an entire spare bedroom dedicated exclusively to your business. Fortunately, that's simply not true. If you're self-employed or own a small business, your home office may qualify even if it's much smaller than you imagine. In fact, the IRS and the...Continue reading
If you're starting a business, chances are you've already spent money before making your first sale. You may have paid for a website, marketing materials, legal advice, software subscriptions, training, travel, licenses, or professional consulting. One of the most common questions new entrepreneurs ask is: "Can I deduct expenses before my business opens?" The answer...Continue reading
Starting a new business is exciting, but it can also be expensive. Between market research, legal fees, marketing, software, equipment, and professional advice, many entrepreneurs spend thousands of dollars before they ever make their first sale. One of the most common questions we hear at Ken-Mar Tax is: "Can I deduct these expenses?" The answer...Continue reading
If you’ve taken the standard deduction for years, you’re not alone. But with recent tax law changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), more people - especially higher-income taxpayers - are starting to ask: how do I know if I should itemize deductions? For many of Ken-Mar Tax’s clients, the answer is changing. And...Continue reading
If you’ve been using a vehicle for your business and you’re thinking about switching it to personal use, you’re probably wondering: can I change a vehicle from business use to personal? The short answer is yes - but the tax impact depends on how you’ve been using and deducting that vehicle. And if you don’t understand...Continue reading
ost people assume this is simple: donate clothes to Goodwill, get a receipt, and take the deduction. But when it comes to Goodwill clothing deductions, the IRS has very specific rules—and missing one small detail can wipe out the entire deduction. That’s not an exaggeration. There was a recent case where a taxpayer donated thousands...Continue reading
Yes—there can be. And in the right situation, it can be a pretty meaningful one. Most people are familiar with the idea of putting their kids on payroll to save on taxes. That works well in some cases. But if your child is older, or your business isn’t set up the right way, that strategy...Continue reading
Most people believe this: “Once it’s been three years, I’m in the clear.” And in many cases, that’s true. But not always. There are situations where the IRS audit time limit doesn’t expire—and your return can come back years (even decades) later. Let’s walk through one of the biggest reasons why. When the IRS Audit Time Limit Doesn’t...Continue reading
If you own rental property and you’re thinking about selling, there’s one strategy you should at least understand before you do anything: The 1031 exchange. Done right, it allows you to sell a property, reinvest the money into another property, and defer paying taxes—sometimes for years. Let’s walk through how it works, what the key 1031 exchange...Continue reading
If you're self-employed, you've probably asked yourself at some point: “Can I write off my work clothing?” It seems like a reasonable question—especially if you're buying clothes specifically for your job. But when it comes to taxes, this is one of those areas where the rules are stricter than most people expect. Let’s walk through what actually...Continue reading
Can I Deduct the Same Things for Multiple Self-Employed Businesses? If you’re self-employed and run more than one business, this is a very common question — and a smart one to ask. You might have a main business plus a side business. Or maybe you operate two different ventures under separate names. Naturally, you start...Continue reading
If you receive tips as part of your income, you may have heard about the new IRS “no tax on tips” deduction and wondered whether it applies to you. It’s a significant tax break — allowing eligible workers to exclude up to $25,000 in tips from federal income tax — but not everyone qualifies. The...
When business owners search for 2025 small business tax strategies, they’re usually not looking for gimmicks. They want to know what they can still do before year-end to legally reduce their tax bill and keep more cash in the business. Many of the most effective 2025 small business tax strategies are based on timing —...