It's only January, but now is the time to be keeping good records for your home based business. This includes documenting travel and purchases that are associated with it.
I mentioned in the previous post that I sometimes travel to visit my Mom and Sis in another city. It's about 100 miles from here, but according to maps for shortest distance, the reality is that I can probably only claim about 80 miles because there really is a shorter route. It's just that the traveling isn't as good on that route and I don't like driving where services are few and far between.
If I make business purchases while I'm in their town, I can claim those miles as business travel. The fact is, I do make purchases there quite frequently, because I can find great stuff there that I can't find locally. It's important to be sure to document the miles and the purchases along with dates and locations. Keep receipts for those purchases with the documentation, too.
Bear in mind, if you shop at a local yard sale you probably won't get a receipt. This is where a journal entry is vital. I write down the location of the yard sale, the things I purchased, and the price I paid for them. Yard sale purchases are most often made with cash, so I don't have a check that I can use as a receipt. I also try to only visit yard sales that are advertised in the local newspaper so that those ads can be a sort of verification of where I shopped.
Some places do give a printed receipt, but they might not have the store name and other important information on it. They may be using a calculator or an old cash register. Immediately, I write the store name, date, and items on that receipt, even if I have to write it all on the back. Of course, it's added to my purchases journal.
These are the kinds of situations that call for special documentation so that you can claim them against your income at the end of the year. Be specific and be diligent!
