在经营自己的企业时，你将面临的最大障碍之一是如何履行你对联邦政府的众多义务, state, and local tax agencies. Tax codes seem to be in a constant state of flux, making the Internal Revenue Code barely understandable to most people.
古老的法律谚语“不懂法律不是借口”可能最常适用于税收环境. 这是安全的假设，税务审计员提出的评估额外的税收, penalties, 而利息不会对“我不知道我被要求这样做”的说法有好感. On the flip side, it is surprising how many small businesses overpay their taxes, 忽略他们合法享有的减免可以帮助他们降低税单.
随着时间的流逝，准备好你的税收和如何把你辛苦赚来的钱留在口袋里的策略变得越来越困难. Your best course of action to save time, frustration, money, and an auditor knocking on your door, is to have a professional accountant handle your taxes.
Tax professionals have years of experience with tax preparation, religiously attend tax seminars, read scores of journals, magazines, and monthly tax tips, among other things, to correctly interpret the changing tax code.
When it comes to tax planning for small businesses, 税法的复杂性产生了许多民间传说和错误信息，也导致了代价高昂的错误. 考虑到这一点，我们来看看一些更常见的小企业税收误解.
1. All Start-up Costs Are Immediately Deductible
创业成本是指在你开始经营你的企业之前发生的费用. 企业启动成本包括启动成本和组织成本，并因企业类型而异. 这类费用的例子包括广告、差旅、调查和培训. 这些启动和组织成本通常被称为资本支出.
特定资产(如机器或办公设备)的成本通过折旧或第179条费用收回. 当你开始创业时，你可以选择扣除或摊销某些创业成本.
You can elect to deduct up to $5,000 of business start-up and $5,000 of organizational costs paid or incurred; however, the $5,你的启动或组织总成本超过50美元时，扣除额就会减少,000, and any remaining costs must be amortized.
2. Overpaying the IRS Makes You "Audit Proof"
国税局并不关心你是否缴纳了适当的税款或多付了税款. 他们确实关心你是否支付的比你欠的少，你是否不能证实你的扣除. Even if you overpay in one area, 如果你在另一个国家少缴税款，国税局仍然会向你支付利息和罚款. It is never a good idea to knowingly or unknowingly overpay the IRS. 自己“审计证明”的最好方法是正确地记录你的费用，并确保你从税务会计师那里得到好的建议.
3. You Can Take More Deductions if You Are Incorporated
自雇人士(独资经营者和公司)有资格获得许多与公司相同的扣除, and for many small businesses, being incorporated is an unnecessary expense and burden. 初创公司可能会花费数千美元用于法律和会计费用来成立一家公司, 但很快就发现他们需要改名或将公司转移到不同的方向. In addition, 许多成立公司的小企业主在最初几年没有赚到钱，他们发现自己背负着最低限度的公司税，没有收入.
4. The Home Office Deduction Is a Red Flag for an Audit
While it used to be a red flag, 这不再是真的，只要你保持良好的记录，满足国税局的要求. Because of the proliferation of home offices, 税务官员不可能审计所有包含总部扣除的纳税申报表. 换句话说，没有必要担心审计只是因为你采取家庭办公室扣除. 然而，高的扣除与收入比率可能会引起危险信号并导致审计.
5. 如果你不接受内政部的扣除，商业开支是不能扣除的
You are still eligible to take deductions for business supplies, business-related phone bills, travel expenses, printing, wages paid to employees or contract workers, depreciation of equipment used for your business, and other expenses related to running a home-based business, whether or not you take the home office deduction.
2017年通过的税收改革立法废除了附表A中的某些分项扣除， Itemized Deductions of Form 1040 for tax years 2018 through 2025, 包括与家庭办公室使用相关的员工业务费用扣除.
6. Requesting an Extension on Your Taxes Is an Extension To Pay Taxes
Extensions enable you to extend your filing date only. Penalties and interest begin accruing from the date your taxes are due.
7. Part-Time Business Owners Cannot Set Up Self-Employed Pension Plans
如果你开了一家公司，而你有一个带薪的职位，并且有401K计划, 你仍然可以为你的企业设立一个SEP-IRA，并扣除.
了解税收制度如何运作对任何企业主都是有益的, 无论你是经营中小型企业还是独资经营者. Whether it is a missed payment or filing deadline, an improperly claimed deduction, or incomplete records, a tax headache is only one mistake away. Furthermore, even if you delegate the tax preparation to someone else, you are still liable for the accuracy of your tax returns.