When you graduate dental school and begin working, you may incur costs that relate to your practice. If you use a non-dental accountant to do your tax return(s), it is quite possible that they may not even inquire about certain expenses that you incurred during dental school which can be used to your advantage once you start practicing. Books, journals and instruments you acquire during dental school are known for tax purposes as a “professional library” and can be expensed as depreciation over several years’ tax returns. This, in turn, lowers your taxable income, which is a good thing!
In the same light, if you use something personally (e.g. a computer, camera or cell phone) and then begin to use it for business purposes (bookkeeping, research, work emails, etc.) then you can potentially convert all of these into business assets.
Start by checking with your school bursar to see how much you spent through the school on books and remember to save receipts when you purchase new computers or dental equipment. Simply by being diligent and keeping track of what you collect while in dental school may save you thousands of dollars when you begin practicing.
~Megan Mathers, JD, Mathers Law
I never thought about this before. Great tidbit, Megan, thanks for sharing! Are dental loupes one of the things that fit into a business asset category?
Yes absolutely loupes are business assets!!