Small Business Taxes For Dummies. Eric Tyson

to recover from the COVID-19 government-mandated closures, for tax years 2021 and 2022, business meals provided by restaurants are 100 percent deductible for purchases from restaurants from which meals are available for immediate consumption.

       Travel and hotels: These expenses are deductible for the company when the travel and hotel stays are primarily for business purposes (meal expenses on such trips are 50 percent deductible). That’s not to say that you can’t enjoy yourself on a trip and do non-work, fun stuff, but the primary purpose of the trip should be business, not pleasure.

       Dues for civic organizations, small-business organizations, and trade associations: If you pay fees to join your local chamber of commerce, other civic clubs, or trade associations relevant to your business, these costs are deductible.

      

For more information on benefits and how they work from a tax standpoint, see IRS Publication 15-B, “Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits.”

      Benefits that are deductible for corporation owners

      A variety of insurance and related benefits are tax-deductible to corporations for all employees. These benefits include

       Health insurance

       Disability insurance

       Term life insurance (up to $50,000 in benefits per employee)

       Dependent care plans (up to $5,000 per employee may be put away on a tax-deductible basis for childcare and/or care for elderly parents)

       Flexible spending or cafeteria plans, which allow employees to pick and choose the benefits on which to spend their benefit dollars

      For companies that aren’t incorporated, the business owners can’t deduct the cost of the preceding insurance plans for themselves, but they can deduct these costs for employees. (Self-employed people can deduct 100 percent of their health insurance costs for themselves and their covered family members.)