Tax deduction for advertising

how much?

[markbiz]

Last year i spent around US$100 on PPC advertising. Didn't want to spend a lot, just wanted to learn and experiment for a while. I did my taxes last month, and i told my accountant about the advertising. He said only 10% of it was deductible. How come all those get-rich-quick manuals say advertising is 100% deductible? What percentage do you guys get? Thanks.

[cyberfyber]

Errrr, perhaps somehow you've got a very special situation?...or there's a misunderstanding as to what he/she has meant?

As far as I know and as far as I've run my business, all costs incurred in running the business are wholly tax deductible as long as the full amount of that cost was for business use.

Also, as long as what you attempt to deduct doesn't surpass what you take in.

That 10% doesn't figure to me. But I'm no expert. I've got my own accountant who helps me out.

Good luck with this.

[Easy_Coder]

PPC Advertising is a Business expense. Are you operating a business in the US?

[gopi]

Change the accountant - he is a crap :) ...Here is a simple overview!

1, All day to day business expenses (like salary,site develpoment/programming costs,hosting , PPC ,link buying,office lease/rent, internet,registeration, legal/accounting costs, meeting/travel expense etc etc) are 100% deductible

2, Expense of buying hard tangible capital assets (like computer/servers, office furniture etc etc) are 100% deductabile upto to a point ( i think 50k , not sure though - check IRS site!) - after that you should depreciate it

[edited by: gopi at 11:42 am (utc) on April 15, 2004]

[steve40]

Yes I agree ditch him
If he can't get that right what else will you lose out on
steve

[bcc1234]

Second that. Get another accountant.

I once has an accoutant that told me that I need to close my LLC and open an S-corp. After an hour or so of questioning her why, I got and answer: "LLC's are so confusing, I know S-corp's much better. So you'll be better off with an S-corp."

No need to say, I never went to that accountant again.

Anyway, the point of this story - just like with doctors, if you are unsure, get a second opinion.

[cyberfyber]

I'd like to add that, it should be your responsibility as a small business owner to know the basics, regardless of whether you've got help from any accountant.

Buy yourself a book, (I've got several) that'll cover the basics and help you understand these very simple rules.

One that I'd like to suggest is J.K. Lasser's "New Rules for Small Business Taxes". You can find it at Barnes and Noble for less than $17.

It'll cover the different business formations, accounting methods as well as the deduction of certain expenses for business use.

I don't believe in being totally dependent on any 'supposed' tax guru.

btw, someone mentioned 'Lease/Rent' --- but that all depends. If it's a home based business like my own, then you deduct the percentile of square footage used for BUSINESS Purposes. Same goes for Utility bills, Travel and all other forms of expenses.

[cyberfyber]

I'm sorry, just thought of something else which should benefit everyone here....For FREE

Go to (copy and paste URL):
[irs.gov...]

They've got CD-ROMs that have all the forms needed, details and explanations. In the past, I've ordered as many as 3 copies each, Totally for FREE, NO Shipping costs.

I recall there being other items not on that page, so keep looking through their site and you might find them.

'best of luck.