# How do I include my start up costs when I file taxes?



## kaycherie (Aug 6, 2010)

Good evening,
I filed my LLC in June 2011. I spent the rest of the year starting up my business. I officially launched a week ago. I didn't have any sales in 2011. I looked at the personal/business tax filing on Turbo Tax but it only addresses a 1099. I wanted to know how do I claim my start up costs on my taxes and if I have to file my business taxes with my personal or can they be done separately. 

Thanks.


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## Just Teesing (Dec 12, 2011)

If you are a single member llc you will file with your personal return... If there are 2 or more partners, you file a partnership return. Taxes can be quite complicated to file without the help of a professional... Good luck on your new endeavor!


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## NotWithoutPerel (Jan 19, 2012)

If you use an accounting program such as QuickBooks, you will have a year-end Profit & Loss Satement, which in your case for 2011 is a "loss".

You implement this into your tax returns in the appropriate documents (e.g., if you are filing as an individual with a Schedule C for Business Profit and Loss, it goes into your Schedule C and then line-transfers over to your 1040).

You need to speak with a C.P.A. or research online which forms you need (it's not that hard to figure out).

It will be easier once you get into it, it's difficult to hypothesize without the forms in front of you.

I highly recommend Turbo Tax, it's practically fool-proof and it tells you if you have "red flags" that you need to go back and fix and it saves your forms so you can go back to them over time and not have to do them all at once. Thus, if you start Turbo Tax, the questions/prompts themselves will spur you to gather the information you need, plus, Turbo Tax "suggests" the forms you need based on the answers you put in. It's Plug-and-Play tax returns, really.

Hope this helps.


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## kaycherie (Aug 6, 2010)

Thank you!


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

startup costs are normally amortized over 5 years. 

start here: Publication 535 (2010), Business Expenses


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