Tax Tips for Massage Therapists
and deductions you may not know about!

.Tax tips for massage therapists reminds you about the usual deductions that most people take who own a business, but it might also make you aware of some deductions you may not have ever known about.

Tax Tips for Massage Therapists and Spa Owners!

Our tips about taxes include information for new massage therapists, home office tax tips, out-call business tax tips, deductions for business entertainment, and donations of services.

Our 3 Best Tax Tips:

1. Keep all receipts - even if it's a questionable expense, you can ask a tax expert later if it's deductible or not.

2. Learn to keep track of every check that anyone writes to you or your business.

Many tax preparers will provide clients a "tax record book" which allows you to easily keep records of checks, with check number and amounts.

Get used to keeping these records early in your career, it then becomes much easier as the years go by.

3. Get a good accountant, CPA, or tax expert the first year of practice. Go to them every year if you can, but the first year of practice is critical. They will be able to help you deduct not only your school expenses, but your initial set-up costs for the practice.

If you don't know anyone, get recommendations from other small businesses in your community.

Tax Tips for massage therapists -Newly Licensed

1. Save all receipts of payment of school or supplies for school, scrubs included

2. Save your receipts for every purchase for your new business, like:

• Massage Table
• Massage Chair
• Lotions, Oils, and/or Creams
• Hot Towel Cabi
• Chairs or any other furniture
• Tables
• Massage Stones
• Stone heater
• Cabinets for Storage
• Massage Table Sheets
• Aromatherapy
• Essential Oils
• Lamps, Pillows, Towels, or Blankets
• Scrubs or other clothes for work

3. Keep receipts for license(s), massage insurance, business license, and massage room rent expenses.

In addition, if you move away for massage school, and if you are still a dependent of your parents, apartment rent expenses can also be deducted off your parents' taxes.

4. Get a 12-15 pocket folder and start keeping your monthly receipts in there. This is invaluable!

5. When you first set up your massage room, walk into you massage room and take a physical inventory of each item in the room. Match that up with all receipts for those items.

Also, make a list of all the things you will buy to maintain the business.

Keep both of these lists attached to your pocket folder for updating as you are saving the receipts.

Take some pictures of the room and specific high priced items, such as massage table and chair, stones and hot towel cabi. These can also be useful in case of fire or other damage where insurance claims must be filed.

Find a way to keep track of all inventory, especially if you resale products to your clients.

6. Make quarterly tax payments for business income. Get into a habit of making these payments four times per year (Jan., April, June, Sept.) during your first 1-3 years in business, and it will become much easier as the years go by.

7. Get a business credit card. Put everything that you purchase for the business on the card.

Tax Tips for massage therapists with a Home Office

The space in you home that is used as your massage room or space that you provide your services should be counted as a home office deduction, but also the space where you store supplies, a client waiting room, and a rest room can also be counted.

If you have an office in your home, up to 20% of your home expenses can be deducted from your taxes. So, keep the following receipts:

• Utility bills
• Rent
• Maintenance and Repair bills
• Mortgage Interest Payment Receipts
• Property Tax receipts
• Home owners insurance bills
• Fire insurance bills
• Telephone bills
• Upgrading receipts for Energy Efficient windows, doors or skylights or other energy saving products

Some home repairs and other upgrades can also be deducted on taxes. Be sure to keep up with receipts for these things as well.

Other home office receipts to save

•  Laundry detergent, fabric softener, and bleach
•  Cleaning supplies
•  Office supplies - pens, pencils, paper, computer, printer, printer ink, phone, gift certificates. stationary, envelopes
•  Paper towels and toilet paper
•  Hand soap and/or sanitizers, body scrubs, masks, hand towels, new sheets, face rest covers, etc.
•  Light bulbs
•  Fans, heaters, trash cans, tissues
•  Little extras for your clients...hand lotion, mints, etc.

Tax Tips for Massage Therapists with Out-Call Businesses

If you do out-calls or chair massage, here are few other receipts to keep for taxes in addition to the above mentioned business items.

• Keep a spiral notebook in your car to record mileage to and from the work site.
• Keep receipts for car repairs, insurance, car payments and maintenance.
• Gas receipts - The IRS continues to increase mileage reimbursement due to increasing gas prices, so be sure to keep all gas receipts if you travel for massage work.
• Other receipts for items you may keep with you for out-call work - telephone, extra supplies, pepper spray or other self-defense product

Tax Tips for massage therapists Continuing Education Expenses

• Keep all receipts for continuing education, but also for other expenses like gas, meals, hotel, airline, car rental, etc.

Business Entertainment

• If you take a client on a business lunch or dinner, keep not only the receipt, but also a note attached to the receipt about what you discussed, who you were with, and tips that were left.
• If you host an open house each year for clients to purchase gift certificates for the holidays, keep receipts for all refreshments that you serve, as well as any products or free services you provide.

Tax Tips for Massage Therapists about Donations

• Keep receipts of all donations made to charities. You should have paper receipts on letterhead of the date, the fundraiser info, and the price of the service donated.

Self-employed professionals get really stressed out during tax season, even put their businesses on hold to organize receipts and paperwork that sits between them and their tax return.

This Annual Tax Mess Organizer for Massage Therapists teaches you how to get on top of that paperwork quickly, allowing you to satisfy the IRS and get back to work in four hours or less!

This is a simple-to-use book that shows you how to:

• Sort your own receipts
  
• Understand what the IRS expects
• Organize information easily for you or your tax preparer
• Organize for different types of massage therapists jobs whether you have a private practice, rent space or own a spa
• Understand how to take deductions...and much more

Some assets of your business may depreciate over time, but all of these things are deductible.

Read more tax tips from AMTA.

Best tax tips for massage therapists...find an easy way to organize receipts/paperwork and keep a "paper" receipt of everything!

Go back Massage Education Guide Homepage

Go back to Starting Salaries for Massage Therapy from Tax Tips for Massage Therapists

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