It is 2010. It's hard to imagine that we are already into the second decade of the 21st century. Some people look at this time of year as bad and others good. We all have our new years resolutions. I would like to submit that one of the resolutions that anyone involved in any kind of MLM business should be to resolve to practice good MLM Management. A part of MLM Management that should be focused on this time of year is the tax deductions that can and should be taken on your income taxes due in - you guessed it - 3 1/2 months or sooner (Article written 1/2/2010).
You should have been keeping good records of your expenses and income. A network marketer is considered an independent contractor and therefore is self employed in the eyes of Uncle Sam. Being self employed you are responsible for paying your own taxes. My recommendation is to pay quarterly if you are making any income online. This will save you a lot of headache at the end of the year. Be sure to keep meticulous notes of the income that you receive but especially make note of the expenses.
Expenses can get away from you when you are on the internet. It is easy to buy an ebook here and an inexpensive software program there, but if you are not keeping track of those expenses, you will have a hard time deciding how much you actually spent during the year and most likely will not claim all that you could have if you kept meticulous records. It's not really that hard, just an excel spreadsheet notation every time you make a purchase.
The following is a list of the expenses that can be claimed and even should be claimed for good MLM Management. This list is assuming that you are working out of your home but can be utilized if working out of an office:
1. Computer - If you purchased a computer during the year, you can claim a major percentage of that purchase on your taxes. Determine the amount of usage between your business and your personal use and claim that percentage of the cost on you income taxes.
2. Computer usage - Any software that is used on your computer for the purpose of your MLM business can be deducted. This would also include any programs or ebooks or anything of that sort are legitimate business expenses and can be deducted. Include a part of your internet and phone fees in that deduction.
3. Hosting and domain fees - If you have one or many domain names and they are hosted somewhere, those expenses are certainly deductible.
4. Video and other devices - A video camera used for making videos to produce and place on YouTube is an expense. If you subscribe to a video or telephone conferencing program for use in webinars or training of any sort, they are legitimate expenses.
5. Affiliate fees - Affiliate programs sometimes charge for signing up to promote their business. MLM business in most cases charge a monthly fee to host a website for you to introduce your program. This is a deductable expense.
6. Outsourcing - If you outsource anything to part of your business, it is deductible.
7. Seminars - Seminars are training and a very important part of personal development in your area of expertise. These are deductible. Hotel expenses and travel to these seminars can also be deducted.
8. Home use - Partially mentioned above, but nevertheless a legitimate use of a portion of your home can be deducted. This would include a portion of your mortgage, electric, gas, water and any other household expense can be partially deducted as an expense. You should be careful with this. You can over do some of the claims.
9. Advertising - Any form of advertising that you do is obviously a deductible expense. PPC, blog expenses, solo ads, traffic exchanges, and many others are all deductible.
This is a list of many of the deductible items that should be used when submitting you income tax forms at the end of every year. The list is certainly not complete but should give you a good base to determine what is and isn't deductible in your quest for good MLM Management.
(Note - I am not a certified tax or financial advisor. I am only giving ideas that I have successfully used in the passed but if you are going to use them, you should consult your own personal tax/financial advisor.)
May 2010 and the future be prosperous for you and yours.
A part of good MLM Management is to keep track of your income and expenses for your MLM business. Darwin Farr has provided good training on the subject with his MLM Management .