Consumables for tax return

[JBloggs]

I ask this every year, and so like Bill Murray on groundhog day, here I am again:
For consumables, ie food items for guests (breakfasts, afternoon refreshments), do you go rcpt x rcpt or do you estimate for your tax return?
So do you say $8 per person, or work it out that way? (of course keeping all rcpts should they be required)

Or do you have a total $ from last year and increase it for inflation? (taking into account occupancy rate)

 

[gillumhouse]

My tax person takes my total checks written from the B & B account for the grocery stores and the produce store and deducts 1/3 in case I have something in there for us. If I paid cash it does not count because I forget to include that and that is usually ours anyway.

 

[Madeleine]

DH enters every stinkin' thing in QB.
He was estimating travel and realized this year he was off by several thousand miles each year. Too late. If we suddenly drove 4000 miles this year to get groceries we'd end up with an audit.

 

[Arks]

I make all purchases for the guesthouse with my Mastercard and all personal purchases with my Discover, so it's easy to keep them separate. At the grocery store I just tell them I'm paying with 2 cards and run the personal stuff through first, then the business stuff.
But I also enter every single item in Quicken and categorize all the business items so anytime I want I can run a report and know how much I spent on business supplies, business food, etc.

 

[TheBeachHouse]

We track them all year on a spread sheet and at year end, it's all in one place. Reciepts are filed in the hope that no one asks to see them, but just in case.

 

[user 26]

ark, that is a great idea! all of xyz on one card, abc on another.

 

[BananaE29]

I make all purchases for the guesthouse with my Mastercard and all personal purchases with my Discover, so it's easy to keep them separate. At the grocery store I just tell them I'm paying with 2 cards and run the personal stuff through first, then the business stuff.
But I also enter every single item in Quicken and categorize all the business items so anytime I want I can run a report and know how much I spent on business supplies, business food, etc..

This is exactly what I do also, except with QuickBooks.

 

[Sunshine]

every receipt is kept and used for taxes. (always pay for personal stuff separate so much easier) that way. It also helps with figuring mileage, (know distance to each store) 1 receipt = mileage x 2 (each way), ie S A Ms is 22 miles away so one trip = 44 miles.
Its all written down...

 

[Proud Texan]

I make all purchases for the guesthouse with my Mastercard and all personal purchases with my Discover, so it's easy to keep them separate. At the grocery store I just tell them I'm paying with 2 cards and run the personal stuff through first, then the business stuff.
But I also enter every single item in Quicken and categorize all the business items so anytime I want I can run a report and know how much I spent on business supplies, business food, etc..

This is exactly what I do also, except with QuickBooks.
.

This is exactly what I do also, except with QuickBooks.

Ditto.