Marketing is a necessary expense in running practically any
business and the IRS acknowledges as much. You may run
advertisements on or in the Internet, radio, television,
magazines, newspapers and other media to sell your products or
services. You should be deducting all of the associated costs on
your tax returns.
Ordinary Marketing Expenses
Marketing costs must be "ordinary and necessary" business
expenses in order to be deductible. Put in layman's terms, you
marketing must be reasonably related to the promotion of your
business and the expense amount must be a reasonable amount.
Deductible Marketing Expenses
Common deductible marketing expenses include the costs
associated with the following items:
A. Yellow Page Advertisements,
B. Business Cards,
C. Advertisements in print media such as newspapers,
D. Telemarketing,
E. Business Cards,
F. Web site costs including creation and maintenance,
G. Costs for Advertisements on the Internet,
H. Billboards, and
I. Graphic design costs.
Goodwill Marketing For Your Business
Marketing that is intended to portray your business positively
can be deducted. Such marketing creates a long-term potential
for business and, thus, falls within the ordinary and normal
requirements of the tax code. Examples of such marketing include:
A. Sponsoring local youth sports teams,
B. Distributing samples of your business product, and
C. Costs associated with prizes offered by your business in a
contest.
As long as your marketing expenses can be reasonably related to
the promotion of your business, you should be deducting said
expenses from your gross revenues. If you failed to claim any
such expenses on your tax returns, your probably overpaid your
taxes.
About the author:
Richard Chapo is with Business Tax
Recovery - Obtaining tax refunds for small businesses for
overpaid taxes. Go to our article
section to discover tax strategies and deductions.
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