Guest, Dan Pilla of TaxHelpOnline.com explains the single most common mistake that small businesses make.

Why is it the IRS will come after someone who owes $1200 like a rabid dog, but someone who owes the IRS $4 million like Al Sharpton is running around without a care in the world? The more you owe them, the less likely they are to collect it.

Single most common mistake that small businesses make… launching into a business entity without understanding the record-keeping you have to maintain. The key is to keep a record-keeping system it as simple as possible. Sole prop is the easiest records to keep. Checks you write to yourself are not an expense, it’s a distribution of income.

Any space that’s in your home, even a detached structure like a barn or storage shed, can be a write-off for business if it’s used exclusively for business. You can’t deduct a space in the home if it’s mixed use business/personal.

The tax code is SO huge, that most agents couldn’t possibly know all the law. Plus, they don’t go by the “law”, they go by the tax manual.

What constitutes a deductible business expense?

The decisions of tax auditors are NEVER final. You always have the write to appeal. The appeals office is tasked with trying to negotiate a settlement. Still not final. After that, you can take it to tax court and have it heard. The higher up the ladder you go in the IRS, the better chance you have of an accurate and fair assessment.

His newest book .. Dan Pilla’s Small Business Tax Guide.

AND as always, we’ll be covering current events, including those weird news items that you may not have heard or read in the mainstream media accounts. Be sure to tune in!