By Thomas Arrison, Certified Public Accountant

In yesterday’s article I talked about some tax tips for the unemployed, today I will present some additional tax suggestions for those of you who are self-employed:  (Note: These only should be used if you have a good business purpose in spending the money. New “toys” like the newest, fanciest computer don’t make good financial sense.)

• You can write and mail the checks for your business expenses on December 31^st and deduct them on your 2009 return. This includes expenses like rent or office supplies.

• Items you charge on a bank credit card can be deducted when they are purchased rather than when you pay the charge card bill. So those office supplies you bought in late December on your Visa card are deductible in 2009. If you charged it on your Staples card, then they are not deductible until you pay Staples. The theory is that Staples has not gotten their money yet so you cannot deduct it.

• If you are self-employed you can delay billing your customers so that you receive the income next year rather than this year.  Please note, if you receive the money this year, you are legally required to report it this year. Keeping a drawer full of checks that you get in December and then deposit in January is illegal. You should report all your income in the year you receive it.

If you plan to implement any of these additional tax saving suggestions, you should plan on consulting with a tax professional to make sure that you are taking full advantage of potential deductions as well as preparing your complete tax filing properly.

About Thomas Arrison

Thomas has been a CPA for over 30 years.    Since 1992 he has provided individual and business tax and accounting services at Arrison & Olden, PC in Littleton, MA.  He also has his own blog, Thom’s Tax Talk, a compendium of tax tidbits and information

By Thomas Arrison, Certified Public Accountant

Surprisingly enough, you should plan your taxes when you have been unemployed. This is especially true if you have just gotten a job.

The most prevalent motivation for planning your taxes is to legally minimize how much of your money goes to the IRS. Many years ago, Judge Landis of the U.S. Supreme Court declared that everyone had the right to legally minimize his or her taxes. To do this, you need to have an idea of what your income and deductions are now, and what you expect them to be next year. You must then move income and deductions in a way that minimizes what you pay in taxes this year.  Sometimes it is worth paying taxes now in order to save even more in taxes next year.

However, ” take the money and run” is a valid alternative.  In this case you worry about tomorrow tomorrow.  You delay as much income as you can afford to next year and accelerate as many of your deductions as you can to this year.  This way, you pay the least taxes possible.

Step One: Analyze your situation.  Will you be paying taxes this year?  If so what is your tax bracket? Are you in the 15% bracket or the 35% bracket?  If you are in the lower tax bracket you will only get back $15 for every $100 you lay out for a deductible expense.  If you are in the 35% bracket then the deduction gets more attractive.

Step Two: Determine where you think you will stand next year.  Will you be in a higher or lower tax bracket?  If you just got a job, then you probably will be in a higher tax bracket next year.

Step Three: Set your goal.  Do you want money now or later?

Delaying income is tough whether you have a job or not.  You get your salary or unemployment check. Your interest income or dividends is paid on a set schedule, so you cannot postpone them to next year.

» Read more: Finances: Tax Planning for the Unemployed