building a PC, tax break?

[guynexdoor]

So I got hired today to do website work and upkeep for a small company. I'm thinking of building a PC, and I'd like to know if I can somehow get a tax break on that. I know my cousin who is a doctor did that same thing when he bought his Dell desktop, and when he bought a palm pilot...he used it as a tax deduction...

Does anyone know how that stuff works? I'm out of college, and it's my first job, and so it's the first time I'm actually making enough money that uncle sam will really tax me.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Zepper]

For a while there businesses could write off the entire amount of a PC as an expense in the first year instead of having to amortize over some number of years, which was the old policy with such things (business machines and equipment). I don't know if that is still valid any more... Unfortunately only for businesses - applies to sole proprietorships as well as S-corps and standard corps.
. Now if you start your own side business, you can write off the percentage used in the business. But that also opens you to a higher chance of them taking a harsher look at your returns... And if they decide to do an audit and you can't prove the percentage of usage claimed, the whole thing will be disallowed. Better to just eat it unless you have a really strong yen to do a side business.
. And if you take work for your employer home, you can charge them for the use of your computer or possibly expense part of it. You'll have to check that out.
. Then there's always the option of claiming the highest number of deductions on your W4 as possible that won't trigger the govt's hairy eyeball (used to be 8) to keep as much of your income from being sent to Uncle Sammy as possible, and just not bother filing. Not many are brave enough to act on the fact that filing a return is voluntary NOT mandatory - though I know a fair number who are...
.bh.

:moon:

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: guynexdoor
So I got hired today to do website work and upkeep for a small company. I'm thinking of building a PC, and I'd like to know if I can somehow get a tax break on that. I know my cousin who is a doctor did that same thing when he bought his Dell desktop, and when he bought a palm pilot...he used it as a tax deduction...

Does anyone know how that stuff works? I'm out of college, and it's my first job, and so it's the first time I'm actually making enough money that uncle sam will really tax me.

Thanks in advance.

I'm a CPA. Are you getting a W-2 or 1099 for this work?

PM me if I forget to check back ( I'm out-of-town on someone else's pc ATM)