Are you taking all the Tax Deductions available for Attorneys?

These Tax Deductible Expenses are commonly overlooked.

As a lawyer, you spend uncountable hours working to succeed in your career and seeking satisfactory financial compensation, and more often than you think you completely forget that Income Taxes represents the biggest expense in your firm and usually the biggest headache if you wait until the last minute to come out with a plan to reduce your Tax Liability.

If you are running your own law practice or you are a solo practitioner, you need to understand the importance of properly tracking all business expenses and keeping proper documentation for all transactions because this is going to play a big part when filing your taxes and the amount you will have to pay to the IRS and State (if applicable).

There are many business expenses you can claim as part of operating your law practice but the most common tax-deductible business expenses for lawyers are:

• Marketing material and expenses related to designing and maintenance of your business website.
• Salaries and wages for employees.
• All legal-related expenses like but not limited to Bar dues, licenses fees, software subscriptions, filing fees, court fees, subscriptions to legal research services, and others.
• Office Supplies and postage.
• Rent and utilities such as phone and internet services, repair, and maintenance of the office. 
• Transportation and Travel expenses
• Tickets for flights, train or bus for business purposes
• 50 % of meal while traveling for business
• Lodging when your business trip requires you to stay overnight.
• Car expenses when using for business purposes (mileage, parking, tolls).
• Education expenses including seminars, continuing legal education, and even expensive law books.
• Retirement plan deductions. We invite you to read our post to find out the best that suits your necessities.

If you have a home office, this may qualify as deductible as long as you meet all the requirements. Keep in mind you will be able to deduct only the portion of your household that has been used exclusively for business purposes. 

Now, if after taking all the business deductions incurred by your business you end up with a high tax liability, there are many strategies you can implement to save money on taxes. Contact us! At My Books and Taxes we can help you develop a Tax Plan to make sure you don’t pay more than the minimum legally possible and is target to help you reach your financial goals.