Starting my own business

[bittwiddler]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone here has started their own business with regards to their trading activities. I am very close to being able to quit my day job (I could live off of my savings for many years without ever touching the capital I use for investing).

I am investigating starting a home based business so that my "costs" would be tax-deductible. I already have a home-office that is used 100% for trading. But, I'd like to deduct things like internet access, books, trading software, etc.

Any suggestions (books, websites, personal experience, etc.) would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
BT

 

[Roberto]

Surprised to see your location is "wa". Is this an abbreviation for a U.S. state? My guess is that the majority of people here with tax experience from which you might benefit will be in the UK (I'm helping you out by saying this, because there'll now be a rush of US members keen to prove me wrong, so you'll get loads of helpful advice!). In the UK, all those things would be tax-deductible anyway if you were a "sole trader", just like they would be if you formed a limited company. There might be other reasons why being a limited company might be helpful, depending on the sort of trading you do, but I imagine that tax wouldn't be one of them. (There's another statement for people to argue with! ).

 

[bittwiddler]

Thanks for the response Roberto. WA refers to Washington State (North of California).

And thank you for "baiting" all the tax oriented individuals for me... ;-)

-BT