J.K. Lasser's Small Business Taxes 2012

Barbara Weltman is an attorney and a nationally recognized expert in taxation for small businesses, as well as the author of many top-selling books on taxes and finance, including J.K. Lasser's 1001 Deductions and Tax Breaks . She is also the publisher of Idea of the Day, a guest columnist for WSJ.com and contributor to SBA.gov, is quoted regularly in major publications (including the New York Times , the Wall Street Journal , and Money magazine), and hosts Build Your Business radio. Visit her at www.barbaraweltman.com.

Preface v Introduction ix Part 1 Organization 1 1. Business Organization 3 2. Tax Year and Accounting Methods 39 3. Recordkeeping for Business Income and Deductions 56 Part 2 Business Income and Losses 69 4. Income or Loss from Business Operations 71 5. Capital Gains and Losses 101 6. Gains and Losses from Sales of Business Property 121 Part 3 Business Deductions and Credits 133 7. Employee Compensation: Salary, Wages, and Employee Benefits 135 8. Travel and Entertainment Expenses 170 9. Car and Truck Expenses 201 10. Repairs, Maintenance, and Energy Improvements 231 11. Bad Debts 244 12. Rents 256 13. Taxes and Interest 267 14. First-Year Expensing, Depreciation, Amortization, and Depletion 282 15. Advertising Expenses 320 16. Retirement Plans 327 17. Casualty and Theft Losses 364 18. Home Office Deductions 378 19. Medical Coverage 395 20. Deductions for Farmers 411 21. Domestic Production Activities Deduction 423 22. Miscellaneous Business Deductions 430 23. Roundup of Tax Credits 473 Part 4 Tax Planning For Your Small Business 487 24. Income and Deduction Strategies 489 25. Tax Strategies for Opening or Closing a Business 506 26. Tax Strategies for a Sideline Business 517 27. Tax Strategies for Multiple Businesses 522 28. Alternative Minimum Tax 528 29. Other Taxes 535 30. Filing Income Tax Returns and Paying Taxes 556 Appendix A. Information Returns 567 Appendix B. Checklist of Tax-Related Corporate Resolutions 575 Index 579