"What I hear you asking is how do you report expenses you paid when your wife had no earnings.
You will still enter the expenses and end up with a business loss.
As a Real Estate Agent, your wife is considered Self-Employed. You will need to use TurboTax Self-Employed Online Software, or the TurboTax Home and Business Desktop CD to file. Within the software, you will report the expenses relating to this business. It does not matter that the expenses were paid with your earnings. It also does not matter that she did not earn anything as a Real Estate Agent. They are still business expenses you paid and they will generate a loss which will decrease your taxable income.
It is not uncommon to show a business loss, especially during a “Start-up” period. The IRS does “frown upon” a continuous loss spanning over several years, so in order to report the loss, you and/or your wife must be in the real estate profession with the intent to make a profit (someday).
If this will be the first tax year filing as self-employed, please follow the interview questions to set up the business. She will be considered a “Sole-Proprietor “and the tax ID will be her social security number. (unless she set herself up as another entity, but that is uncommon) Be sure to keep good records with your tax files. Continue through the income interview to the section where you will report the business expenses. If you get lost, type schedule c into the search box and click the jump to Schedule C.. Going forward, since she is not a W2 employee and there is no employer withholding taxes for her, you may need to make estimated tax payments for her income or increase the withholding on your paychecks. Her Broker or real estate association should have information about that for you.
Below are 2 links with more information about entering business expenses, one for TurboTax Online and one for TurboTax Desktop.
Enter business expenses with TurboTax Online
Enter business expenses with TurboTax Desktop CD
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