I am a hobby dog breeder. When I have a litter of puppies, my labor hours are are generally 140/wk for several weeks and then taper off to around 50 hours/week until the puppies go to their forever homes at 8 weeks. My time is a legitimate cost of doing business, and I should be able to get credit for it somewhere! Can I claim it as an expense without having to pay income taxes on the amount I claim?
Also, if I pay someone to help me, are they an employee? Do I have to issue a 1099 and pay employer taxes? Paying someone to help is generally no more than $150/week and it includes general housekeeping duties that I can't do because my time is dedicated to newborn puppies.
