Business tax returns calculate the net taxable income that your business has earned and the amount of tax you are liable to pay on that income. Whether your business is a corporation or a sole proprietorship, you will also need to include your business income on your personal tax forms. Keep accurate records all year, detailing and categorizing your business income and expenses, and grow familiar with the rules regulating which business expenses are legitmately tax-deductible.
Complete the Depreciation and Amortization form if you used your vehicle for business purposes. Decide whether you will deduct your actual expenses or whether you will use the standard mileage deduction. If you deduct your actual expenses, you should have an accurate accounting of all business-related auto expenses, including gas and insurance as well as a tally of the number of miles you drove for business along with the number of miles you drove for personal trips. Calculate the percentage of mileage driven for business purposes and claim that same percentage of your total auto expenses. If you are using the standard mileage method, multiply the number of miles you drove for business by the standard mileage allowance -- 51 cents per mile in 2009 -- to calculate your deductible auto expenses. Enter your auto expenses on the appropriate line of the net profit section of the Schedule C form.
Find your business's net profit by itemizing your yearly expenses according to the categories on the bottom half of the front page of your Schedule C form. If you incurred legitimate business expenses in categories not covered on the form, list them in the space on the back of the form designated for miscellaneous expenses.
If you made major equipment purchases, account for them on the Depreciation and Amortization form as well. Check the instructions to find the number of years to expense the particular type of equipment you bought. Enter the total purchase price and divide it by the number of years over which you will be deducting it to calculate the amount you can deduct per year. Enter this amount on the Depreciation and Amortization line of the net profit section of the Schedule C form.
Use Schedule C of Form 1040 to calculate your business income. Figure out the cost of goods sold on the back of the tax form by adding your annual gross sales receipts to the difference between your inventory at the end of the current year and your inventory at the end of the previous year. Then subtract the sum of your materials and labor to find your business's gross profit.
Add all of the entries in the net profit section then subtract this amount from the gross profit to calculate your net business income. Enter this amount on your personal tax form under "business income."
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