As a realtor, you are someone who is going to find themselves dealing with a not-insignificant amount of taxation requirements. Realtors have a tough job, and since you are likely not considered an employee but a contractor, you can find that your taxation is a bit tougher to handle than you might have expected.
Even if you are working for a firm as an agent, you are likely still a contractor to them rather than an employee. As such, it might be wise to consider hiring a CPA to help you process your taxes year-in, year-out in a rather complex industry.
It’s going to be vital that you can build up a strong record of all of your expenses and deductions, for a start. Since this job is all about communication, you will be going to and from locations a lot. As such, you might find that it becomes quite easy to build up a large deduction on travel costs and the like.
This alone could be worth hiring a CPA for; all of that moving around becomes so much cheaper the minute you find out where and when you can deduct that from your costs.
Also, you can deduct a lot of other expenses along the way. So long as you keep receipts and statements then you can find it nice and easy to build up a fine collection of deductions that will, in time, make your taxation so much more affordable than it likely is at this moment.
From deductions on marketing costs to try and sell a house (websites, flyers, maintenance, open-house signs etc.) to transportation, association dues, licensing, coaching, education and even gifts (to a limit of $25) can be vital for making sure that each year you aren’t left with a huge tax bill to pay.
Jut avoid being overly creative. Some people go too fa when it comes to filing taxes, and this can mean that they try and deduct a little too much. The aim is to always be within the realms of reality and the law. This is why, for many realtors, hiring a CPA makes such obvious sense. They can sit down with you and find out where – and when – you are going wrong so that you can better prepare for the challenges ahead.
While being a realtor can be confusing, a reliable CPA can help you make life simpler.