Deductibility of Expenses: Determination Rules

Subject: Finance
Pages: 2
Words: 357
Reading time:
2 min

The following are Specific rules when determining the deductibility of the business expenses and their necessities. A taxpayer should know the fundamental principles of tax deductions. Among the basic principles is that no one is allowed to deduct all the expenses one incurs from the income he or she earns when determining the tax due. One of the fundamental principles is formed by the reason why only some of the business expenses are allowed as deductions. In different countries, there are specific rules that govern tax deductions from business expenses. For a business expense to be deducted, it must be “incurred, wholly and exclusively, and in the production of gross income from the business.”

An expense is said to have been incurred when goods are delivered to the person who has bought them, and the invoice is issued accordingly for the price of the goods delivered. As long as the debt is paid at a future date, that expense is deductible. However, an expenditure that is expected to be incurred in the future after the occurrence of an event is not deductible even if you are sure of that expenditure. This rule is necessary because the expense is deducted only after you have owned the goods. The taxpayer will be deducted based on the goods and services he or she enjoys. This also guards against uncertainties such as the death or bankruptcy of the business owner because an expense that is imagined to be incurred in the future is not deductible.

An expense must be incurred in the business for only one purpose, which is making income from the business. Expenses that are incurred for more than one purpose, such as for business and personal purposes, will break this rule. This rule is necessary because the business owner will pay only for what has gone to the business and has led to profit-making. Wholly refers to the amount spent on goods that produce income from the business, and it goes hand in hand with exclusive, but this spells out the quantity of the expense.