Self-Employment business expenses

[keith1785]

Have a home buisness. Lawn Care.  Have been putting the repairs & maintenance cost in the 'Repairs & MX" section.  This year I read the details and it is for repairs/MX of an Office.  Where do you list the expenses of the equipment?  Oil changes, blade changes, replacing bearings/pulleys on the lawn mowers, etc  Do I take the income and subtract the maintenance cost and that is the profit I enter?

[DanielV01 · Accepted solution]

Maintenance and repairs is an acceptable category for the maintenance of your lawnmowers.  It is not an acceptable category for vehicle expenses, however.  Those maintenance and repair expenses are considered separately, since some people claim actual expenses for their vehicle and others claim standard mileage rate.  

While it is correct to try to put expenses into the correct categories, the IRS is not overly picky about this (except for vehicles, and a lawnmower is not considered a vehicle).  You could also list your repairs as miscellaneous expenses, your gasoline and oil for your mowers and trimmers as supllies expenses, and so forth.  What is important is that you have substantiation for the expenses that you are claiming (receipts, etc.) in case the IRS asks for proof.