Starting and running a small business is expensive. There are many different costs that go into operating a business, but many can be tax write-offs. For an expense to be deductible, the cost must be both “ordinary and necessary,” according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). An ordinary expense is defined by the IRS as “one that is common and accepted in your industry,” and a necessary expense “is one that is helpful and appropriate for your trade or business.” SURGE IN US SMALL BUSINESSES STARTED AS SIDE HUSTLESWhen it comes to filing taxes as a business owner, it is extremely helpful to work with a tax professional who can help you navigate tax deductions. Below is more information about tax write-offs and common examples of business expenses that could be deductible. “A deduction is an amount you subtract from your income when you file so you don’t have to pay tax on it,” according to the IRS. Expenses can be deducted that are for your business, not ones that are for personal benefit, according to Investopedia. You can further look into what tax deductions you may be eligible for by using the IRS Tax Guide for Small Business. ONE-THIRD OF SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS WORRIED THEIR COMPANY WON’T
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Arizona small businesses owners struggle to make ends meet, voting for economic relief this election
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Some Arizona small business owners are saying economic relief will be a big part of their vote this year, and it could make or break votes in one of the key battleground states.Small businesses play a major role in Arizona’s economy, employing more than 40% of people in the state, according to the Small Business Administration.Chad Heinrich, the State Director for the National Federation of Independent Business(NFIB) – Arizona, said one of the biggest clouds of uncertainty for small business owners this election cycle revolves around the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It was put in place by former president Donald Trump and expires at the end of 2025.WHAT IS A TAX WRITE-OFF? HOW THE DEDUCTIONS IMPACT BUSINESSES TAXABLE INCOME”Not only are small businesses facing a significant tax increase if Congress lets this expire. But Arizona’s economic growth really hinges on Congress acting and making the 20 percent small business deduction permanent,” Heinrich said.More than 500 business groups across the United States are calling on congress and the next administration to keep former president Trump’s tax cuts in place.START YOUR OWN BUSINESS: HOW TO MAKE YOUR SIDE HUSTLE DREAM A REALITYBoth candidates, Trump and Harris have said they plan
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Donald Trump gives mom of 3 $100 towards grocery bill at Pennsylvania market store
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A mother of three was surprised by a generous gift from former president Donald Trump while she was shopping at a local grocery store in Pennsylvania. Hundreds of people lined up outside Sprankles Neighborhood Market in Kittanning, where Trump greeted shoppers and even gifted one woman some relief for her grocery bill.”Here, it’s going to go down a little bit,” Trump said to the shopper.He is then seen handing the woman, who is identified as a mother of three by his communications team, a $100 bill.TRUMP REVEALS WHICH US RIVAL WILL BE HIS FIRST PHONE CALL IF RE-ELECTED”It just went down 100 bucks,” Trump said.”Thank you so much,” the woman replied.”We’ll do that for you from the White House, alright?” Trump said as he waved goodbye and thanked everyone for their support.Trump also supported the business by purchasing a large bag of popcorn.”Oh, look, I gotta get some. We gotta get it,” Trump smiles while handing over the large bag to his team.”My mom just got a bag of that actually,” a customer tells the former president. TRUMP LEADS HARRIS IN CRUCIAL STATES GEORGIA, ARIZONA, NORTH CAROLINA, POLL FINDS”Is this stuff good?” Trump asked.”She says it’s the best,” he responds.”Is that the
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Small business uncertaintly hits all-time high ahead of Election Day
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Wall Street might be booming, but Main Street is feeling more uncertainty than ever ahead of Election Day, as polling shows the race between former President Trump and Vice President Harris is a dead heat.The National Federation of Independent Businesses’ (NFIB) Uncertainty Index surged 11 points in September to 103, the highest reading on record, indicating small business owners’ jitters about the future are at an unprecedented level.”Uncertainty makes owners hesitant to invest in capital spending and inventory, especially as inflation and financing costs continue to put pressure on their bottom lines,” said NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Although some hope lies ahead in the holiday sales season, many Main Street owners are left questioning whether future business conditions will improve.”Shawn Cole, co-founder of Cowen Partners Executive Search, says the findings come as no surprise, saying “It feels like we’re in a stalemate right now.”FLORIDA BUSINESSES FEAR HURRICANE MILTON WILL WORSEN HELENE ‘DEVASTATION’: ‘LOOKS LIKE A THIRD-WORLD COUNTRY’”What makes this stalemate so frustrating is how long it’s dragged on,” he told FOX Business. “Inflation remains a top concern, and with broader economic issues, like the upcoming elections, there’s no clear path forward.”Inflation remains the top operating problem small business owners
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Florida restaurateur rebuilding after Hurricane Helene: 'An absolute gut punch'
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Café L’Europe, one of the oldest buildings in St. Armands Circle, in Sarasota, Florida, has been flooded four times in the past 18 months.”That last one from Helene completely wiped out the restaurant. Every piece of equipment is ruined… It was gut-wrenching,” John Horne, CEO of Oysters Rock Hospitality, which owns and operates the restaurant along with six other spots along Florida’s West Coast, told FOX Business. FLORIDA AIRPORTS RESUME OPERATIONS AFTER HURRICANE MILTONHorne said the building, which was formerly home to John Ringling’s sales office, took on 4 feet of water and that no one in St. Armands Circle was spared. “[I’ve’] never seen anything like it. Every business in the circle is affected” by Helene, Horne said. Helene made landfall last month as a Category 4 storm and brought with it winds with speeds of up to 140 mph and a record storm surge of 15 feet. Moody’s RMS Event Response estimated that private market insured losses for Helene’s wind and storm surge damage will range between $6.7 billion and $12.3 billion, while inland flooding losses will be between $1.3 billion and $1.7 billion. HURRICANE MILTON NEARS CATEGORY 5 INTENSITY AS FLORIDA RESIDENTS TOLD TO PREPARE FOR LIFE-THREATENING IMPACTSThat brings the total private
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Lowe's to give $2.5M to small businesses hammered by Hurricane Helene
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Lowe’s plans to provide millions in financial support to small businesses in North Carolina that were hit hard by Hurricane Helene, helping them recover during the holiday season after federal relief temporarily dried up.The $2.5 million fund will provide grants directly to small businesses in the state. It will also provide support to local business development organizations in advancing their work to help businesses navigate disaster relief aid. The fund is part of the company’s $12 million pledge to support relief and recovery efforts in the wake of Helene and Hurricane Milton.The home improvement retailer is headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina.Joel Cogdell, president of Lowe’s South division, said that small businesses are the backbone of the local economy in western North Carolina, driving important industries like agriculture and tourism. NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS COULD FACE WINTER WITHOUT HEATPreliminary estimates by Moody’s Analytics pegged the economic toll of Helene at around $34 billion. “Hurricane Helene impacted our state during what is normally one of the busiest seasons of the year for our small business neighbors,” Cogdell said. “When we talk about supporting small businesses, we are talking about our neighbors, friends, vendors and customers.”In total, 100 small businesses in disaster-declared communities in western
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Prince George's County council limits convenience store density
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The Prince George’s County council in the state of Maryland recently voted 10-0 in favor of enacting a measure limiting how densely convenience stores can be packed together in the area.Council Member Krystal Oriadha said in October that there is a problem with “overconcentration” of the stores.”They call themselves convenience stores,” she said. “They are just tobacco shops with chips and soda.”MARYLAND MAN ALLEGEDLY SHOT, KILLED TEENAGE STEPSON FOR NOT COMPLETING CHORES: POLICEJust ahead of the county council’s vote to enact the proposal, Antonio Mingo said that convenience stores have brought problems like violence and noise to the community. During his remarks, Mingo noted he is from Suitland, Maryland.But Sarah Price of the Maryland Retailers Alliance asserted that “with the exception of transit-oriented activity zones… this proposal would effectively shut down future development for standalone… non-gas station convenience stores in Prince George’s County.”The text of the measure states, “A convenience store use may not be conducted on property within three miles, measured from the property line, of a building in which a convenience store use is legally operating with a use and occupancy permit. EX-MARYLAND TEACHER TO SERVE FRACTION OF 30-YEAR SENTENCE AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO SEX WITH TEEN STUDENT”This provision
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Recent hurricanes cause Florida citrus production to fall as farms work through damage
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Florida oranges are harder to come by after recent hurricanes impacted production at farms across the state.The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts the state’s citrus season, which runs from October to June on average, will be worse than last year.Florida is expected to produce 12 million 90-pound boxes of oranges from 2024 to 2025, according to the USDA. That number is down by nearly six million boxes after 17.96 million were produced during the 2023 to 2024 season.Matthew Schorner, the general manager of Al’s Family Farms, said his farm was struck by tornadoes during Hurricane Milton in October.HURRICANE MILTON RELIEF EFFORTS: THESE COMPANIES ARE HELPING AFFECTED COMMUNITIES”It may have been twenty tornadoes. Who knows how many popped up in that giant black cloud,” Schorner said.Al’s Family Farms has been shipping citrus across the country for nearly five decades. They box up fruit in a packaging building that had survived dozens of hurricanes, until Hurricane Milton.”It’s amazing to see how many hurricanes this building endured, and then it was all just crushed,” Schorner said. “I looked at it and I was like wow. I couldn’t believe it – I’m in tears – I can’t believe it. What am I going to
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Small business optimism soars in anticipation of Trump 2.0
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The anticipation of Donald Trump returning to the White House sparked a surge of optimism on Main Street, according to multiple post-election surveys.The National Federation of Independent Business’ (NFIB) latest Small Business Optimism Index jumped 8 points to 101.7 in November, with the election results indicating a significant shift in economic policy from the Biden-Harris administration, breaking a 34-month streak of record-high uncertainty with the highest reading since June 2021.That’s the first time the reading has risen above the 50-year average over the past 2.5 years. Of the 10 Optimism Index components, nine increased, none decreased, and one was unchanged last month from October.”In a nutshell, economic policy matters, and there’s no doubt that the election results spurred a lot of the optimism, that surge in optimism, that we saw in our monthly economic survey,” NFIB President Brad Close told “Bloomberg: The Close” this week. DC PIZZA SHOP FACES BACKLASH OVER CONGRATULATORY TRUMP TWEET”Small business owners are looking forward to an administration coming in that’s going to address the concerns that the little guys — half the economy in America — really cares about, and that’s tax policy, that’s cutting regulations and getting the economy going again,” Close added.In the days
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Small business optimism jumps to 6-year high following Trump win
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America’s small business owners are feeling better about the economy than they have in six years, in anticipation of President-elect Trump returning to the White House.The National Federation of Independent Business’ (NFIB) latest Small Business Optimism Index jumped 3.4 points to 105.1 in December, the highest reading since October 2018.This is the second consecutive reading above the 50-year average, after the November index broke a 2.5-year streak that same month as Trump’s win.At the same time, the NFIB’s Uncertainty Index plunged 12 points last month, falling to 86.JAMIE DIMON WEIGHS IN ON TRUMP’S WIN, POLICIES HIS ADMIN SHOULD FOCUS ON”Optimism on Main Street continues to grow with the improved economic outlook following the election,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Small business owners feel more certain and hopeful about the economic agenda of the new administration.”Dunkelberg added, “Expectations for economic growth, lower inflation, and positive business conditions have increased in anticipation of pro-business policies and legislation in the new year.”The survey comes as the outgoing Biden-Harris administration continues to tout its economic policies, pointing to growth and low unemployment numbers. But the high inflation and heavy regulations of the past four years were felt on Main Street.BIDEN’S GREEN NEW DEAL