Any creative accountants out there?

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Moderators: k9car363, the bear, DerekL, alicefoeller

hangloose

2006-09-15 6:46 AM

Crystal Lake, IL

Subject: Any creative accountants out there?

TRUE STORY: One of my meetings yesterday was with one of our biggest customers. As we are coming back from lunch one of the guys mentions how his car is full of his ____ gear in the back. I said "What kind of gear?" He says, "Tri gear, I do triathlons." HA! You can all guess how the rest of the conversation went. He lives about 10 miles south of Green Bay and this is his second year doing tris. He invited me to come up next summer and do a HIM near him that he's doing. This winter he's going on vacation to Thailand and doing a tri there that was written about in Triathlete Magazine. Somehow I need to turn this into a way to buy a tri bike as a business expense! If I do a race with him can I write the race off as an "entertainment expense"? Any creative accountants out there? (I'm only half kidding and I don't know what the right font is for that.)

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Scout7

2006-09-15 7:10 AM

in reply to: #542072

Runner

Subject: RE: Any creative accountants out there?

Why am I not surprised to already see this as a thread?

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McFuzz

2006-09-15 10:12 AM

in reply to: #542072

Champion

7547

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Bronze member

Subject: RE: Any creative accountants out there?

I don't know what accountants charge, but you'd have to buy a very expensive tri-bike to justify the $$ spent on creative accounting (and legal advice) to write it off...

If your company "sponsors" you, you could get a bike with a custom paint job and they get to write it off as "advertising..."

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the bear

2006-09-15 10:28 AM

in reply to: #542072

Resident Curmudgeon

25290

The Road Back

Gold member

Subject: RE: Any creative accountants out there?

NOT an accountant, but I drove by a HI Express on my way to work...

Are you self-employed or work for a company? Unless you're self-employed it will be difficult for you to take a deduction for your company's business expenses.

If your company paid for the trip/race, it may very well be a legitimate business development expense. Around here, the bank pays for employees' golf club memberships, health club memberships, entry fees into tournaments and races, yada yada all the time, the employees have to be in a business-development position and have to document customer contact through those activities.

Remember that your company only gets to reduce taxable income dollar-for-dollar. Not sure why they would want to pay your expenses unless it increases their revenue/profit.

I don't think the tri bike purchase is going to fly.

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biker_chic

2006-09-15 11:18 AM

in reply to: #542072

New user

Subject: RE: Any creative accountants out there?

Any creative accountants out there?

Do those exist???

Kidding. Kidding.

Well, uh, sorta.

hangloose

2006-09-15 11:59 AM

in reply to: #542425

Crystal Lake, IL

Subject: RE: Any creative accountants out there?

the bear - 2006-09-15 10:28 AM

NOT an accountant, but I drove by a HI Express on my way to work...

Are you self-employed or work for a company? Unless you're self-employed it will be difficult for you to take a deduction for your company's business expenses.

Remember that your company only gets to reduce taxable income dollar-for-dollar. Not sure why they would want to pay your expenses unless it increases their revenue/profit.

I don't think the tri bike purchase is going to fly.

I have partners to consider so it has to be somewhat justified, but I own the company.

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AdventureBear

2006-09-16 5:48 PM

in reply to: #542072