Re: U.S. Tax Question

At 12:00 AM 4/17/2001 -0400, Steve Mount wrote:
>Having just filed my taxes, and dutifully claiming the $26 or so I earned
>from Ask Jeeves as income, it got me to wondering if I *should* claim
>revenue from "link exchanges" as income.  After all, Ask Jeeves in effect
>was using part of my site's real estate... but they only paid me for a
>click-through.  Perhaps the rent I could have charged for their ad far
>exceeded what they paid me for a click-through, and I actually had a loss on
>the deal.
>
>Anyone dealt with this in their tax filings?
>
>-------------------------------------------------------------
>Steve Mount, Software Engineer            steve(at)saltyrain.com
>Home Site                            http://www.saltyrain.com
>US Constitution Online          http://www.usconstitution.net
>Free Your Soul             http://www.anonymousconfession.com


Tho I stopped short of CPA testing, I have taken the boring tax classes 
when I worked on my Accounting degree.

I take this revenue was included in your business income paperwork? Or was 
it personal income? That can make a difference.

Any business income usually has some sort of expenses associated with it, 
but those expenses should have some sort of documentation with it. ie 
copies of energy bills, payroll time of person spent on the computer, etc. 
Usually tho' in my bookkeeping experience, you take all your revenue, take 
out the expenses, adjust for other details (prior taxes, payroll taxes, 
depreciation of assets, blah, blah, blah) and find a final earned revenue 
(or loss).

And the basics of documentation are: Who, what, when, where, and why. Hold 
docs for seven years in case of audit.

If it is personal... hmmm... usually just show income from all sources, 
including barter, take out allowable standard or itemized deductions 
(expenses if applicable might apply here), and pay what is due or get refund.

For all that work, is tax on $26 really worth the hassle and extra 
paperwork? You answer may vary.

my two cents, and not to be taken as official as tax rules change yearly. 
Consult a real tax accountant for official answers ... and thinking about 
it, the cost of an accountant might be more than the $26, but is considered 
an allowable tax expense or deduction.

(gads, tooo long in the accounting world.... I need out!)


Kimiko Drew

macruimmon(at)earthlink.net
http://home.earthlink.net/~macruimmon/

Web Designer in The Camarilla
(White Wolf's official fan club)

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