Small business taxes: A primer – CNET

With technology increasingly intertwined with all aspects of business, CNET@Work can help you — from prosumers to small businesses with fewer than five employees — get started.


With more entrepreneurs opening small and home-based businesses, questions about taxes and taxation are inevitable. This primer aims to provide some answers. However, you should consult your tax advisor on your specific situation.

There have to be some tax advantages to compensate for the risk of opening a home-based business, right? In addition, there are pitfalls to avoid, guidelines to follow and things to know in order to keep you out of the Internal Revenue Service’s crosshairs.

(In addition, tax reform may be the horizon. But as of this writing, there are not enough details known to make any determination of the potential impacts.)

The big surprise: Self-employment tax

Businessman

If you don’t want a negative tax-time surprise, include the amount of self-employed tax owed in your quarterly estimated tax payments.

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