Why does my tax return go down when I add business expenses? will it affect me next year if I don't claim my business expenses this year and claim expenses next year?

[Marketstar]

Yes, the IRS requires the self employed to enter all business expenses in the year paid,.

The Earned Income credit is added to the refund meter as you enter your income and personal information.

As you lower your taxable income with deductions, you may lower the amount of your Earned Income Credit (and possibly the Child Tax Credit), thus lowering the dollar amount you see on the refund meter.

The more information you enter, the more accurate the refund meter will be, and will not be totally accurate (and thus truly meaningful) until you have entered all of your information including all income and expense/deductions.