Lea Uradu, J.D.

Employers can get a tax credit called the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) of up to $2,400 per employee if they hire people who have been out of work for a long time. For this credit, a person is considered to have long-term unemployment if they have been out of work for at least 27…

You can claim a deduction on your tax return for the business loan interest you paid during the year. Qualifying business loans include term loans, lines of credit, and even credit cards. However, you can only claim a deduction if your loan was for a business purpose, like purchasing assets or paying expenses. If you’re…

The IRS allows rental property tax deductions for any ordinary and necessary expense of maintaining and renting out your property. Investors and real estate professionals can save a significant amount of money on their taxes by taking advantage of tax deductions for things like depreciation, interest, insurance, and repairs. While real estate investors usually cannot…

The home office deduction allows you to write off some of your home costs when you do your taxes. Deductible expenses include the business portion of real estate taxes, mortgage interest, rent, casualty losses, utilities, insurance, depreciation, maintenance, and repairs. To figure out your home office deduction, you can use either the simplified or regular…

Employers and some nonprofits that hire veterans can get tax credits through the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). It cuts your tax bill by up to 40% of the wages paid, which can save you a lot of money. If you hire a vet and are an eligible employer, you may be able to use…

For the first year, you can immediately deduct up to $5,000 in start-up costs for expenses like salaries for new hires, executives, and consultants that were incurred prior to the start of business. You can deduct another $5,000 in organizational expenditures like accounting service costs and legal services. Start-up costs and organizational expenditures over $5,000…

The Domestic Production Activities Deduction (DPAD) is an expired tax provision that manufacturers and qualifying businesses (qualified producers) could claim for years prior to 2018. The deduction is figured by taking 9% of the lesser of either qualified production activity income or taxable income. The total value of the deduction cannot exceed more than 50%…

Amortization is a cost recovery method used to deduct the cost of Section 197 intangible assets over a fixed period. In general, Section 197 intangibles are amortized over a 15-year period using the straight-line method—meaning that the same amount is deducted each year for 15 years. The most common intangible asset is goodwill on the…

Percentage depletion is a tax deduction that helps independent producers and royalty owners account for the reduction of a nonrenewable mineral resource, such as oil, gold, and iron, and to recover the associated cost. Another option for calculating depletion is the cost depletion method. This deduction is very similar to depreciation but is specific to…