Loading...
Answers
MenuIf I get a virtual address for my company and I work from home; will I still be eligible for tax credit on my home office?
This question has no further details.
Answers
yes. As long as your main place of work is your home/office.
Under U.S. tax rules, you are permitted to deduct the costs of your home office. The fee you pay for the virtual address is a deductible expense, similar to paying for a PO box.
If you work from home, the IRS will permit you to deduct an allocable share of the total home expenses. In order to qualify for the home office deduction, the room in your home needs to be used regularly and exclusively for business purposes.
The IRS provides two methods for computing the home office deduction. The first is the Simplified Method, which takes the square footage of your home office and multiplies it by a prescribed rate per square foot.
The second option is the Regular Method, which measures the actual expenses of the home. Divide the square footage of the home office by the total square footage of the house. Multiply the percentage by the total expenses of the home to arrive at the home office deduction. There are other rules that prohibit a home office deduction that exceeds revenue of the company, so you may have a carryover of expenses if they are not deductible in the current year.
In Canada, you must also be a Canadian tax resident working for a Canadian entity is all that matters and only 10% of your R&D work may be outside the country. It does not matter where you work exactly. The rule are different in other countries.
Yes, you will. Be sure you calculate your office space as a percentage of your total home square footage. You need to be sure you also use your office space only for work. I have had clients and friends who have had "surprise" IRS audits to verify that the home office was really only used for work.
Your personal tax return doesn't need to list your business' mailing address, so they won't question the difference in mailing vs. physical address.
Related Questions
-
In a startup with a globally-spread remote team, does it still make sense to incorporate in U.S./Delaware vs. somewhere overseas?
Delaware C-Corp I usually Delaware is the best choice for any startup looking for fundraising with a US focus. However, if you are a remote and global team, an overseas or foreign corporation or US tax purposes might make sense. You'd have to talk to an advisor who can dive into your situation, but it would be more difficult for the US owner come tax time, as he'd likely have to file form 5471 to the IRS for any controlled foreign corporation, and form 90-22.1 for any foreign bank accounts. There are a lot of other concerns I didn't hear you raise that entrepreneurs usually have and ask me about, namely banking and merchant accounts/ payment processors. In terms of accepting online payments, any US corporation or LLC is far and away the best option for a company. It's difficult to suggest without knowing more about the company but you might explore Delaware, Wyoming, Hong Kong and other offshore jurisdictions for your legal entity. Each tend to have positives and negatives and there is no one size fits all solution. I do write about issues of incorporation quite regularly on my website FlagTheory.com - so you can read those articles for free, or we can schedule a call - Clarity.fm/incorporation when you have specific questions. Thank you and hope this was helpful!EJ
-
Can I have an Ohio business with a California address?
You can live wherever you want and have a business wherever you want. Especially with an LLC. The IRS doesn't care because with an LLC, the profit flows through the business to it's Members, to the extent of their basis. So if you own 75% and another Member owns 25%, then the profits are distributed that way and reported on the "K-1" with the federal return. LLC's pay no federal income tax as it is al allocated to the Members. The only issue is at the state level wherever you live. If you meet the residency test for that State (which you can find online), then that is where your state taxes - if any - would be calculated and paid based on your K-1 return. You certainly wouldn't want it to appear you have a CA residence with their tax level! I would suggest that you establish residency wherever you live. I too have a virtual mailbox AND live outside of the country. Doesn't affect my LLC in the states at all. Feel free to reach out if you need further help.CD
-
Should I hire a bookkeeper? (what does one do exactly?)
NIcole is right. When I first started my business I thought I was saving money by doing my own bookkeeping. It took me much longer than it would take a bookkeeper - all time that I was not spending on marketing or billable activities. And in the end I made errors which made the initial work of the bookkeeper longer. I now have a consistent routine. My bookkeeper picks up all my material monthly and does my books in less than 2 hours. Very worthwhile.RL
-
How are SaaS companies taxed?
Same as any other entity (or person). Entity pays taxes in it's domicile jurisdiction. Best you talk with a tax preparer in your home country to ensure you have all the details. And... If you're a US citizen + your SAAS company is generating massive cash, likely best to organize your entity in a low tax jurisdiction, like Bermuda which is home to Google, Intel, Verizon, etc. And... best wait till Trump's new tax bill passes. If he has his way, corporate taxes may drop to a point low enough to keep your business in the US.DF
-
I'm a Canadian selling ecommerce products on Amazon (US only). Need info on cross border tax clarification & if it's time to incorporate (in US or CA)
Regarding US taxation of internet sales. Since you are a foreign entity or person (in regard to the US), and there is an income tax treaty between Canada and the US, you will not be liable for US federal income tax on internet sales unless you have a “permanent establishment” in the US with which the internet sales income is effectively connected. So as long as you do not have a warehouse, physical store, sales office, etc... in the US you don't have to file US returns or remit tax to the US. Amazon should be charging to the customer and withholding any sales tax due to a state in which your products are sold. If you sell through other merchants or directly you may have to deal with this yourself. Regarding incorporation Incorporation is almost always a good idea from a liability standpoint as it prevents a judgement for damages from taking all your property and limits the collection to what is owned by the business, With the facts you have given I would suggest incorporating in Canada unless you have a business reason to establish a physical presence in the US. This will eliminate US taxes and related compliance costs. Once you establish a US presence you will need to begin filing returns in the US even if you are running a net operating loss. If there is no benefit to having a physical presence in the US then the related compliance costs and tax would be an unnecessary expense. Feel free to setup a phone call if you would like to chat for a bit regarding the matter. ThanksDM
the startups.com platform
Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.