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Start Thinking of Taxes

It’s holiday time once again! From Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah — it’s that time of the year to celebrate.

Before you get carried away with the celebrations (and food!), you need to start thinking about your taxes. Tax time is not one of my favorite things. But like many things in life, it is something that you have to do whether you like it or not.

In my view, as long as I owe the government tax dollars, then it means business is good. But I also do not want to pay Uncle Sam without knowing what the law allows me to deduct as business expenses.

November is the time to catch up on what you are allowed to deduct to minimize your taxes. Do you need new computers? Do you want to buy new software? Do you need to spend advertising money? Have you opened a self employment 401K account? It’s time to wade through your receipts, or start talking to your accountant about tax strategies.

It’s also the period to start reading all these tax books for whatever changes in the tax laws that may affect you. I have recently received my yearly free copy of J.K. Lasser tax books, and here are some tips from these tax experts:

• Take the Bite Out of April
• Multiple Tax Bills and Mid-Year Law Changes Increase Savings and Complexity