Massage Therapy Tax Deductions in South Carolina

bnalicea

I have a question specifically about special tax deductions for a massage therapist in South Carolina.

I have 1099's as well as my own income statement and have reported it all on a Schedule C. I have also deducted all of the general business expenses including insurance, supplies, travel, etc, but I am wondering if anyone knows if there are special tax deductions for my industry in my location.

I've read a bit about the Lifetime Learning Credit, but am unsure of what qualifies me for that. Also I see that I can write off car expenses, but I never kept track of my mileage or specific expenses as I only do outcalls half of the time. Is there a fixed deduction for mileage that I can use for my vehicle? Or any other vehicle expenses?

I'm trying to reduce the amount I owe (obviously) so hoping to uncover some industry specific deductions that I didn't think of.

Thanks in advance for the help!

PhillipB

Hello, and I'm happy to have the opportunity to help you!

Generally, most industries do not have special tax deductions, but sometimes there are deductions that occur more frequently in certain industries.

Expenses I would expect you to have include, supplies, equipment (like new tables or massage chairs), taxes and licenses, continuing education, advertising, rent, and vehicle expenses. For new equipment, if the equipment costs under 5,000 dollars (this is because you keep accounting records. If there are no accounting records, the cost would need to be under 2,500 dollars) you can deduct the cost of the equipment as a miscellaneous expense using the De Minimis Safe Harbor (there is a checkbox for this on the Common Expenses screen in your Schedule C in our software). Home office may also apply if there is a space in your home used solely for customers massage appointments.

The Lifetime Learning Credit only applies for college expenses for a degree or certificate program, and the school must be a college or trade school eligible to provide student aid from the US Department of Education. This may have applies while you were in school to get your initial massage therapy license. Now that you are licenses, any education is probably continuing education. Continuing education is deductible if it is required to maintain your license (for example, doctors and nurses have to take so many hours each year for their license requirements).

Mileage is a great deduction that you would be eligible to claim as long as you maintain a mileage record of all the appointments that you drive to a clients home or business. The mileage record is strictly required for all vehicle deductions. I would look in your mobile phones app store for a "mileage tracking app". These apps like MileIQ help make the mileage record easy. If you have the mileage record, you can deduct the higher amount between the standard mileage deduction (around 50-60 cents a mile depending on the year) or the business portion of actual expenses (business portion is calculated by dividing business miles / total miles driven in your car).