While the holiday shopping season is mostly about spending money there are a few things you can do to save a little money on taxes. Here are some year end tax write offs your small business can take advantage of during the holiday season.
Get all your business supplies for next year at the end of this year. You can buy toner for the printer now and write off the cost for next year. Cleaning services and the like can be included if you want to prepay for something you won’t be using right away.
Year end is a good time to look for this year’s bad debts. If you’ve got a bill that’s been hanging around all year without being paid, this is a good time to write it off as a bad debt. This is a good time to check out your books and see what’s outstanding.
If your company is going to be hosting a holiday party this year, remember that some or all of it may be written off. Putting on a holiday party for your employees and their significant others and/or family members is 100% deductible. However, when vendors and a few favorite clients are invited, the occasion can still be partially written-off, but the interaction with these guests must be business-related.
If you want to create a festive atmosphere in the office, you can have treats. The good news is some of these office treats can be a write off. When considering writing-off a well-stocked kitchen, the key is to be reasonable. Providing your employees with a catered lunch before the New Year? Go ahead and write it off. But if you make it a habit to Stock the fridge with juices and soda throughout the year you probably shouldn’t deduct it.
They key to writing off certain things during the holidays is to keep good records of everything. Your records should make it easy to distinguish between what’s business related and what’s not. Check with your tax professional to make sure.
