This article provides a comprehensive review of Gary W. Carter's book, which is an essential guide for anyone running or considering starting a home-based business. The book offers a wealth of information on tax deductions, record-keeping, IRS forms, and more, all presented in an easy-to-understand manner.
Gary W. Carter's book is a must-have for anyone running a home-based business or considering starting one. If you've ever had questions about tax deductions for your home office, supplies, and equipment, or wondered about the paperwork you need to keep and how to fill out IRS forms, this book is for you. Carter, with over 20 years of tax experience, brilliantly shares his expertise through easy-to-understand explanations, examples, and instructions.
Carter's book combines historical tax facts, court cases that have set precedents, and upcoming changes to give you a comprehensive understanding of the tax system and your options within it. His layman explanations of tax audits, accounting systems, record keeping, and the IRS's definition of "business" provide a wealth of information to alleviate your tax fears and empower you with the knowledge you need to maximize your tax benefits.
The book begins with a chapter on IRS audits, explaining the process, what to expect, and your rights. Subsequent chapters delve into topics of utmost importance to home-business owners, such as the legal definition of a business for tax purposes, allowable deductions, business entity formations, and more.
One chapter is devoted to the legal entity structure of your business, providing more detail than you'll find anywhere else, in language that's easy for anyone to understand. If you've been considering forming a corporation for legal and tax reasons, this chapter will be particularly useful.
Additional chapters tackle accounting methods (cash, accrual, or hybrid), explaining how each works, what the IRS rules are, and which might be best for you. Allowable deductions are also covered in detail, with one chapter devoted to transportation deductions and another explaining common business deductions such as computers, books, magazines, meals, insurance, and retirement plans.
The book also explains how the sale of your home affects your home office tax reports, details the payment of state, local, self-employment, and social security taxes, and advises on which records you should keep and for how long. Throughout the book, Carter explains which IRS forms need to be filled out for which purposes, even devoting an entire chapter to explaining Form 8829 (Expenses for the business use of your home) line by line.
Each chapter includes a notes section at the end, providing an annotated reference list that tells you where to find government laws and codes, free publications, court cases cited in the book, and more. This information alone is a goldmine of reference material.
In conclusion, this book provides an extremely detailed look at the legal and monetary aspects of running a home-based business. It's a wealth of information on its own, and expands on that to provide comprehensive reference materials for anyone that needs them.
Overall Rating: 5 Stars (out of 5)
Pros: You don't need a PhD to understand it
Cons: Some of the information can be overwhelming, especially when references to various IRS form numbers are given. Considering the complexity of the topic, however, the author did an excellent job.
Recommended: Highly
Availability: In Stores Now - Check Amazon Price
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