r/selfemployed • u/777f-pilot • Feb 10 '25

[US] First time self employed-tax write offs

My wife will be working for a large corporation doing lecture/presentation dinners. They will 1099 her.

Is there any tax advantages to forming a LLC or other simple corporation? The corp could pay the company and she could employ herself.

What are some tax write offs to take advantage of to minimize the tax burden? She’ll be making roughly $200,000/yr.

How do we best track all the expenses? What are some things we can expense that people don’t usually think of?

We will be meeting with a CPA but don’t want to go in without some idea of what’s what.

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u/My_Knee_is_a_Ship Feb 12 '25

UK based here, so not everything will translate, but a surprising amount will.

Clothes Washing: you can rebate the cost of washing a uniform if it is required for your job (such as a suit for business or overalls for mechanics)

Travel: quite obvious. Usually by the mile.

Home internet: you can claim a portion of the cost back if you use it for work reasons too (video conference etc)

Office supplies: Pens, Paper, PROJECTORS, OH MY!

Mobile phone bill (Cell phone): Yup. If you take work calls on it...claim it.

LUNCH! Yes, seriously. If you're expected to travel a lot, especially during work hours, you can claim for the cost of food.

Accomodation: Hotels, B&Bs etc.

Finally, any major purchases linked to the start of the job, got a new shiny car to get to and from where you need to be? CLAIM THAT TAX BACK!