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New Member
posted Jun 3, 2019 10:53:23 AM

Do I enter my business expenses as negative numbers or positive numbers?

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1 Best answer
Intuit Alumni
Jun 3, 2019 10:53:24 AM

Enter them as a positive number. The program will subtract them from the income.

5 Replies
Intuit Alumni
Jun 3, 2019 10:53:24 AM

Enter them as a positive number. The program will subtract them from the income.

New Member
Jun 3, 2019 10:53:25 AM

OK, it just made me wonder because my refund went from a refund to me owing just by me entering my expenses. thanks

Level 2
Jun 3, 2019 10:53:26 AM

Did you understand this? I saw the same thing. Why would the taxes go up after entering another expense?

Level 1
Jan 25, 2023 4:36:27 PM

Same thing happened to me: started return from business using the wizard, while adding income the refund grew bigger, then for each expense I put, the refund shrunk.  Happened last year as well.  I am just perplexed as to why.  I read elsewhere that it may be due to EIC calculations in the background; still, AFAIK, the less you earn the higher the refund so that would not intuitively explain why expenses reduce it.  Has anyone figured this out?  Perhaps somebody from TurboTax can help clarifying? 

Level 15
Jan 25, 2023 4:40:13 PM

By increasing your deductions and expenses it will decease your income and you may not be getting as many credits as before like the EIC credit. You can't go by the refund monitor until you have entered everything in. Also after you reduce your income to zero there is no more refund to get back. But even though your taxable income goes down and you owe less income tax on it, you still owe SE Self Employment tax if you have a Net Profit.

 

And what you said about ....the less you earn the higher the refund  is not true.  It depends on many things main how much withholding or estimated payments you had.