Business income and expenses section

pamela-johnson96 — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 05:45:08 GMT

I began self publishing a book in 2016 however didn't publish until 2017. Do I begin a Schedule C for 2016 even though no income was earned?

Yes, if you were in business last year as an author/publi...

MichaelDC — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 05:45:08 GMT

Yes, if you were in business last year as an author/publisher, you can begin a Schedule C even though no income was earned.

You can also deduct expenses as long as you can prove that you opened or were in business in the year expenses were incurred. To be deductible, a business expense must be both ordinary and necessary.

The IRS expects that if you start a business, you intend to make money at it. If you don't, your business is likely to be a hobby, if which case you can only claim expenses to the extent of your hobby income. To determine if your business is a hobby, the IRS looks at numerous factors, including the following:

Do you put in the necessary time and effort to turn a profit?
Have you made a profit in this activity in the past, or can you expect to make one in the future?
Do you have the necessary knowledge to succeed in this field?
Do you depend on income from this activity?
Are your losses beyond your control?

You report both income (if any) and expenses on Schedule C/Business Income & Expenses.

TurboTax will guide you step by step through the process.

· Type in business expenses in the search box in the right hand corner of your screen

· Click jump to business expenses.

If you do have some income you can enter it on the same page.

Note: Based on your expenses, you may have to upgrade to a higher version of TurboTax.

topic Business income and expenses section in Business & farm

Business income and expenses section

Yes, if you were in business last year as an author/publi...