Watching Panic Room the other night, I had to really appreciate something the little girl said: She told her mom that buying a house wasn’t like going shopping, because you didn’t have to pay the price on the tag.

I think that quote applies to other things as well.  For instance, your business taxes: While it’s true that you need to be honest and pay the right amount, that amount might not end up being what it appears to be at first glance.

In other words, before you deduct your expenses, your income looks much higher than it actually is, right?  Well, what if you’re not deducting all of your possible expenses, and your net income should be even lower than you think?

Cost segregation is one tool to use to figure out what expenses you can be claiming that you already aren’t.  Cost seg basically analyzes your business property and determines whether it can be reamortized so that you get to claim more in expenses on it each year.  A net present value calculator can help you determine whether you would benefit from cost segregation services.

While I don’t advocate doing anything illegal or immoral to decrease your tax liability, there are still perfectly legitimate ways of doing so.  Why pay the price on the price tag when you really don’t have to?

Pay your business taxes (but only what you have to)

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