Deductions
“I bought a new high-end laptop exclusively for my side hustle, what specific receipts or logs do I need to keep to prove this to an IRS auditor?”
For a laptop used in a side hustle, the recordkeeping question often turns on how clearly the business use can be shown and whether there is any personal use mixed in. Auditors typically look for the purchase invoice or receipt, proof of payment, and contemporaneous logs or notes that tie the device to the business activity, such as the work performed, dates used, and how it fits the side hustle. If the item is expensive, records showing when it was placed in service and whether it was treated as a business asset can also matter, along with any supporting documents from the business itself. Going through your records with a CPA usually surfaces the answer in under an hour.
In your 90-minute session, the KGOB advisor handling it will:
- Read your exact situation and tell you, in plain English, what’s actually going on.
- Lay out your options and the trade-offs — no jargon, no judgment.
- Give you a clear next step you can act on, whether that’s with us or on your own.
“I incurred massive personal credit card debt to fund my struggling business, is the crippling interest I pay on those cards tax deductible?”
“Can I deduct my new home office using the actual expense method without immediately triggering a red flag audit from the IRS?”
“I bought a heavy luxury SUV primarily for my real estate business, how does the Section 179 vehicle deduction actually work for passenger vehicles?”
“I use my personal cell phone extensively for my freelance work, what exact percentage of my monthly phone bill is safe to write off?”
This page is a prompt to start a conversation, not tax or legal advice, and states no tax-law specifics as fact. A consult session does not by itself create an ongoing engagement. We do not promise specific outcomes or savings. Kohari Gonzalez Oneyear & Brown PLLC — Charlotte, NC.
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