Metallman's Reverie is a Business

Hey there.  I just recently found out that that my blog, Metallman's Reverie, is considered a business.  How great is that!  This site has existed for over 2 years now.  The first year was spent experimenting on writing styles that ranged from all sorts of topics.  It was also spent trying our many of the social media networks that welcomed personal blogs such as this one.  I also tapped into the stream of online revenue but was not very successful that first year.  And rightly so.  It takes time to build a name, an audience, and reputation as a dedicated blogger.  So for that first year, Metallman's online income was not very much.  However, year #2 is a different story.

It may not be an amount to live off of, but I managed to make over $1,000 last year in online revenue.  That averages out to under $100 a month, BUT it's good enough to pay a few bills and have some "fun" money to use.  Not bad for someone in their second year of blogging, no?  Once I received my tax forms and handled that whole process, I was advised that my blog is considered a business and it is allowed to have business expenses.  Who knew!  I surely didn't so I was advised that if I have certain expenses that my business needs, I would be allowed to deduct those for next year.

I'm actually excited about this.  First and foremost, because I'm a business owner.  My own boss!  Second, because I'm able to deduct certain expenses to reduce my tax bill next year.  Now, I still consider myself a rookie here.  I just starting my third year (Earlier this month) with this blog and it's the first time I encounter the "business expense" aspect of it all.  So I'm curious as to how it will work.  I was thinking out loud the other day with my wife and we came across certain items that may or not be considered business expenses.  If I were to get a laptop, would that be considered a business expense since I would use it to work on my site?  What about the FiOS internet that I use to log online?  Or my cell phone which I use to receive and respond to Emails in regards to my site?  I have plenty of questions and if you're on the experienced side of it all, I would love your input.  In the mean time, I'll just keep tabs of those expenses, just in case I'm able to chalk them up to, "Metallman's expenses".  =oD   Later!