Vent: Spent 6 months filing my LLC taxes wrong before my accountant caught it

I was putting all my business expenses under my personal deductions because I thought that's how it worked for a single-member LLC. My accountant in Austin asked why I claimed my dog's vet bill as a business expense and that's when I knew I messed up. Anyone else find out they were doing basic paperwork backwards way too late?

3 comments

3 Comments

faith_thomas1mo ago

Heard a CPA say most LLCs mix up personal and business stuff at first.

anthony1291mo ago

I've honestly never bought into that being a huge deal. As long as you're keeping solid records and can clearly separate the expenses later, mixing a few small purchases isn't the end of the world. Everyone's got to eat, and if you're working from home sometimes that lunch is for the business too.

brian_smith61mo agoMost Upvoted

Oh I learned that one the hard way in my first year. I had a business debit card for the LLC but I'd use it to grab lunch at the deli on the same block as my home office and just call it a "working lunch." My CPA later told me that the IRS gets really picky about that stuff and it's not worth the audit risk. Now I just have a separate wallet for business expenses and I only use that card for things like shipping supplies and software subscriptions.