Originally Posted by dolores:
I agree with you about becoming knowledgeable about our business from all angles including taxes. Interestingly, I read Tom's books many, many years ago when I started my business and they were very helpful. I need to get current versions of them.
Finding an accountant, and a lawyer, who know the home daycare business and its nuances, tax rules etc is the most challenging part of all of this. It is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Your not going to find one that's fully knowledgeable about this type of business and it's not their fault. But then again of course they're gonna tell you to become an S-corp. The tax preparer can charge you more money as a corporation.
That's why having the books is handy. I ended up changing my CPA because he said the same thing..s corp s corp. The new tax preparer is use now (not even a CPA) was impressed because I was showing him things in the books he had no idea about or other things that had special rules just for us. But he verified it all buy looking at the book and verifying on the IRS website. So you really need to find an accountant that is more willing to listen to you and your suggestions vs them telling you what you can or can't do. Because you'll go in brimming with ideas of what you can you deduct versus asking them what you can deduct. It'll make your life and their life easier.
Tom's latest book takes a lot of guesswork out. But every year is different and rereading and getting a refresher once a year for me is not a big deal either. Not everything in the books applies to you so you can skip sections at a time. But certain parts might apply to you the follow year. Example would be spending money on a certain home improvement that qualifies for the Section 179 rule. I have an idea of what it is, and when I'm ready to use it, it'll be there. Until then, i'm skipping it. Pick what you think applies to you, and double check with the accountant.