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Tax season is here and many are looking for ways to get some of their hard-earned money back. In today’s Money Monday, Dr. Lynn Richardson returns to give you tips on common tax deductions to help you get some money back in your accounts during text time.

 

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“Every day is tax day when you learn how to get your money back.” What does this mean?

 

Dr. Richardson: If you went to the grocery store and bought all of your groceries and came home and ate $250 worth of groceries, fed your family and then in two weeks the grocery store manager said, hey, come back and get your money and all you have to do is show me a diary of the day that you ate so on and so forth, guess what you will follow those rules. We would all “stop, drop and roll” right now. You would go back and get your money. Well, guess what? That’s what the IRS says. The IRS says is if you go out to eat for business, you get your money back. If you go out to eat for personal reasons, you don’t. If you drive your car for business, you get your money back but if you drive your car for personal reasons, you don’t.

The IRS says that over 400 times, so it’s the things that we are doing every day already, using our cell phones are sitting at our desks in our homes. There are all kinds of things that you’re doing every single day that can affect your taxes and help you get more of your hard-earned money back during tax season.

What are some common tax deductions that people may not know about?

 

The most common tax deductions are the things that we use every single day. And I believe most people cannot even move five feet without their mobile phones. So that mobile phone yes, that mobile phone. If you spent $22,000 on the phone, you are in the lease right with the phone, and then you have the phone bill. If you use your mobile phone for business, that’s the tax write-off.

If you have a Home Office, which means you have a designated space in your home or your apartment. That you use exclusively for your home-based business, this does not include the space that you use to work from home. If you work for someone else, that’s not a tax write-off, but if you have your own business, maybe you’re a motivational speaker. Maybe you’re an author. Maybe you babysit. Maybe you drive for Uber. Maybe you sell Mary Kay. Whatever it is that you do well, now you get to write off a portion of your rent.