If Im working as a mechanic, are my tools tax deductible? Can anybody give me anymore information? Im pretty clueless when it comes to this sort of thing. How would this work?

Thanks

Jim

yes, they are tax deductible as they are required for work. Save your reciepts and go see a good accountant (read not the tax preparer that's been doing it for 20 minutes down at Sears.)

Yup, along with any uniforms, work clothes, boots....if you use your vehicle to run any errands for the business...all that jazz. You know doing your own taxes isn't that hard at all, you just gotta ignore all the IRS language because it's written by idiots. Something like TurboTax pretty much gives you a step by step and does very good with these type of deductions. I've been using it for the last 5 years for my small business and zero problems.

yes, they are tax deductible as they are required for work. Save your reciepts and go see a good accountant (read not the tax preparer that's been doing it for 20 minutes down at Sears.)



i use h&r block and they are competant at doing this deduction:flipoff2: mind you you will need to go long form and sometimes its not benificial to go this route.

i use h&r block and they are competant at doing this deduction:flipoff2: mind you you will need to go long form and sometimes its not benificial to go this route.

don't you need an actual profession to have taxes? didn't think "couch placement holder" or "babysitter" actually classified as jobs.:flipoff2:

i use h&r block and they are competant at doing this deduction:flipoff2: mind you you will need to go long form and sometimes its not benificial to go this route.

I've done the long form since I was 16 - it's always been worth the extra time to not just take the standard deductions.

Oh, and yes - tools are deductible. Anything over $400 I believe should be depreciated on a schedule though.

Make sure you keep your reciepts or end of year statement. If for some reason you get audited you will need them.

Tools are definitely tax deductible. But the laws change so often you need to check to see if its worth it year to year.

If you work for yourself like me then mop water is deductible:D . If you work for a shop then it can be a toss up. My guys don't supply anything so they are screwed deduction wise.
Gary

I have always been told that you need to meet a certain % of your adjusted gross income before it becomes tax deductible. Have I been misinformed or are you guys meeting that certain %

tools are deductible along with uniforms and other stuff, if you itemize, your tax professional should be able to tell you if its worth going long form or not by looking at your situation. I figure my cpa saves me more money than he costs me buy analyzing the big picture and keeping me on track. but Ive been self-employed for 8 years. some years my cpa will recommend me making tool or equiptment purchases that I need and have put off, near the end of the year in order to avoid a higher tax bracket.

Make sure you keep your reciepts or end of year statement. If for some reason you get audited you will need them.

As a business, you should ALWAYS be keeping ALL business receits... that should be standard practice.

If you purchase them personally, they will be handled completely differently if they are bought by the shop you own.

I have done my own taxes and I've paid folks to do them. I ALWAYS get more back than what it costs me to have someone else do them for me.

You can deduct all sorts of stuff, the main thing is you have enough to itemize and not be better off taking the standard deduction. If you reach that level depends on things like your income, if you have a house, dependants, etc. You can also deduct last years cost of tax preparation. It is money well spent. Yes you can deduct tools and tons of other stuff. I personally look for a new job in my same field every year in Moab around Easter if you catch my drift. Get a good tax guy, it's worth the $.

Yep, I deduct an easy $1000 of tools per year. I also deduct all my steel toe boots, etc. You'll probably have to have a house/kids/new vehicle tax/etc. to deduct with it to make it worthwhile. I don't know why you need to see a cpa to do it, I've done my own, and got audited once, and it was fine. The IRS didn't believe that a 20 year old had $4000 deduction on a house, $6000 on tools, and $2300 on a new truck. :rolleyes: Stupid system flagged me. Just be honest, and it's no biggie. If you work for a car shop, don't deduct a chainsaw and an 80 gallon air compressor, and you'll be fine.