Taxes for Massage Therapists AMTA

There are a few complexities involved—such as a maximum income level—so check out our guide to the QBI deduction for therapists to start taking advantage of it ASAP. If you practice in an office outside your home, the cost of rent is fully deductible. The cost of utilities (heat, water, electricity, internet, phone) is https://www.bookstime.com/ also deductible. The cost of membership in a professional organization, like the American Counseling Association, is tax deductible. As an alternative to itemizing each of these deductions, you can claim the standard deduction. This is a flat rate, varying from year to year, that any individual tax filer may claim.

Do you use an online booking system that integrates with Square or other POS systems? Do you manage a massage schedule using a scheduling app on your phone? If you answered yes to any of that, it’s a qualifying business expense. All the equipment you need to provide massage therapy is a qualifying expense. This includes massage tables, stools, massage chairs, towel warms, hot stone cabinets, and more.

Legal fees

Marketing materials are necessary for almost all businesses. If you designed massage business cards, printed a brochure, or created a flyer to advertise your business you can write those expenses off. It doesn’t matter if you paid and printing company or you DIY-ed your projects. If you printed them yourself, the cost of the paper and ink count as expenses too. If you have a mobile massage business, offering in-home services, all those miles are a major expense to your business. Even if you only treat clients in your clinic, you can write off miles driven to run business errands and to massage events.

You may also need this information to support what you claim when it comes to business travel and related expenses. Most billing software, such as Ivy Pay or Stripe, collect a percentage of your revenue when clients pay by credit card. If you use Square, Stripe, or similar services to collect payments from clients, those fees are 100% tax deductible. When you file your personal taxes, you can choose between claiming the standard deduction or itemizing your deductions. Typically, it makes sense to choose the deduction method that will save you the most money. The best thing to do is review all your expenses to make sure you’ve captured every cost within your business that could potentially qualify as a tax deduction, and start tracking them—and saving your receipts—now.

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You’ll save many hours (and probably some money) by keeping accurate records throughout the year. The benefits of this practice are worth the time you spend. Many accountants have differing viewpoints on whether or not this counts as a write off, so be bookkeeping for massage therapists sure to check with a tax professional here. Read more about whether personal therapy is tax deductible for therapists. State income taxes, personal property taxes, payroll taxes and real estate taxes paid on commercial property are all deductible.

You can only take a tax break for the part of your usage that is related to your business. The cost of traveling to conferences or weekend seminars is also a massage tax deduction. If you drove to the conference, you can also report the mileage for this trip as a business expense. First add up all of your income, including massage sales and tips.

Utilities and Continuing Education

In addition to the standard 1040 form, there are three different forms, also referred to as schedules, you can fill out to make sure the IRS has all the needed information from you. IRS, “Estate and Gift Tax FAQs,” updated October 18, 2022, irs.gov/newsroom/estate-and-gift-tax-faqs. IRS, “Topic No. 556 Alternative Minimum Tax,” updated October 14, 2022, irs.gov/taxtopics/tc556. IRS, “Topic No. 506 Charitable Deductions,” updated January 13, 2023, irs.gov/taxtopics/tc506. IRS, “Topic No. 503 Deductible Taxes,” updated October 5, 2022, irs.gov/taxtopics/tc503.

• Turbo Tax has collected a list of 9 things most people don’t know are tax deductions.
• The inclusion of an item on the following list does not mean that it is necessarily eligible as a business tax deduction.
• If you’re a therapist and business owner, you may be wondering about self-employment tax and if there are any special tax rules for your profession.
• Next, add up all the expenses you incurred related to the cost of running your massage business.
• You’ll see the words “write-off,” “tax deduction,” and “deductible” used interchangeably in this blog.

If you are getting massage therapy for medical reasons, upon your doctor’s advice, and you have proof, you could claim tax exemption for the services. You might spend a lot of your time zipping around town to meet clients, finish assignments and do your research among other tasks. Luckily, you can write off car-related expenses like maintenance and gas. Throughout the year, you will need to make sure you record all of your business expenses.

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If you hire a lawyer, accountant or cleaning service, to assist you with your business, include that in your business expenses. Filing taxes is a daunting task for many massage business owners, but it doesn’t have to be. If you keep good records, it can be as easy as printing off a couple reports and handing them to your accountant. If you use your car for work, you can deduct certain expenses as transportation costs, including the cost of gas, as well as capital expenses like vehicle purchases and repairs. Alternatively, you can usually deduct your car expenses based on the standard mileage rate set by the IRS each year.