Zany Tax Deduction for Lawn Care Operators

[Steve]

Now here is something interesting to know. Do you ever have clients meet at your home office? Well there could be big tax breaks for you. Something to consider. Top 10 Zany Tax Deductions - 8. Landscaping. A sole proprietor who regularly met clients in an office in his home can deduct part of the costs of landscaping the property. The deductible portion is based on the percentage of the home that is used for business, according to the Tax Court. The Court also allowed a deduction for part of the costs of lawn care and driveway repairs.

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[Jim Adams]

Lawn care business tips

Under "business use of home" you can deduct portions of all sorts of household expenses ** taxes, insurance, upkeep, utilities and more ** as business expense. This is perfectly legitimate, but the IRS does not seem to advertise it. I'm not a tax pro and can't advise anyone, but be sure you qualify before claiming it. Jim www.promower.net

I write off my home office. How you do it is take the square footage of your house. Then just the square footage of your office area. You can deduct such things as your electric and water based on the square footage. For example, your power bill is $150.00 and your total house is 2,000 sq ft. Your office is 100 sq ft. You know that you can deduct $7.50 of your electric bill based on your 100 sq ft office.

But even like Jim said above, don't take my word for it. Talk with your accoutant. That is just how I have always done it.

[Steve]

I could see how a landscape design contractor could really run with this. If the were home based, they could really do amazing designs in their yard and potentially have the business pay for it and then it would add to their home value.

[Jim Adams]

Parts of "business use of home" are limited and pro-rated in various ways. Before I spent much on landscaping my home in hopes of calling it business expense, I would check with a tax professional. The IRS is not known for giving away free lunches.

Jim