What is a "tax write off"? - eviltoast

Let’s say that I have this one movie that is finished that I spent 80 million to make. I decided to “write it off”. So when I get to pay my taxes, do I get a 80 million discount?

  • eerongal@ttrpg.network
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    9 months ago

    you can’t just write off anything you want. You only get to write off certain things, but at the end of the day, a tax write off is just a tax deduction for how much you need to pay, in the same way any normal person paying their taxes does. Just like with personal taxes, you can just reduce your tax liability down to 0 if you get enough deductions.

    Corporations obviously work differently than for a normal person, but the same basic principle applies.

    Edit: i suppose i should clarify - You can take deductions for investment losses. Normal people can even do this. What you’re referring to would be a deduction along those lines, where you’re “writing off” a loss on your taxes. If you invest $100 in stock, and sell when the value is $50, you took a $50 loss, and can deduct those loses from your tax burden, because you’re required to pay taxes on 50 less dollars that year.

    • Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca
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      9 months ago

      Personally I think it’s all bullshit. We should be able to write off so much shit as regular people but can’t.

      Sure, maybe I make $60,000 a year, but I also spend $5000 in gas to commute to work, $4000 a year in car payments for a vehicle that I primarily use to commute to work, $2000 a year in insurance for said vehicle, and maybe $1000 a year for repairs for said vehicle.

      Who’s going to let me write off $12,000 a year for the privilege of getting to my job?