DePaul Professor Offers Tax Tips for Self-Employed People

Self-employed people who launched home businesses last year may be eligible for some new tax deductions. Here are some tax tips from DePaul University Law Professor Jerold Friedland:

* Self-employed people can continue to make contributions to their Keogh personal retirement plans up until the April 15, 1997 tax filing deadline and include these contributions when calculating deductions on their 1996 tax return. However, the plan had to be set up before the end of 1996. It's best to check the plan to see how much is deductible.

* Deductions may be allowable for expenses related to the space in a home used exclusively for business purposes. These expenses include items such as heating and electricity costs, repairs and depreciation. Under a new provision enacted last year, deductions may be allowed for a portion of a home used exclusively for storage of supplies or inventory for a business.

* People who bought equipment such as computers, electronics or office fixtures last year may deduct these costs if the equipment is used primarily for their business. Tax legislation enacted last year increased the total amount that can be deducted as a business expense on 1996 tax returns rather than depreciated over the life of the asset.

Reporters can reach Friedland at (312) 362-8747.

Late Night Tax Preparation a Trait of Chronic Procrastinators

Chronic procrastinators tend to be night people who prefer to start tasks, like preparing taxes, late in the day, according to Joseph R. Ferrari, a DePaul visiting assistant professor of psychology and expert on procrastination.

"People who wait until around 11:15 p.m. to work on their taxes in the last days before April 15 are true procrastinators," he said. "Procrastinators tend to wait until late at night to begin to do things, especially unpleasant tasks."

In a study to be published in the spring edition of the European Journal of Personality, Ferrari found that people identified as procrastinators engaged in more activities late at night than those that weren't procrastinators, based on surveys and activity diaries from two groups of about 60 subjects who participated in the study.

According to Ferrari, about 20 percent of Americans are chronic procrastinators. They fall into three different categories -- indecisives who can't decide what to do about a task, arousal seekers who get a thrill out of completing a task just before deadline, and avoiders, who want to escape doing unpleasant tasks, like taxes.

Reporters can reach Ferrari at (773) 325-7000, ext. 2003.

General Tax Questions?

David J. Roberts, associate professor of accountancy at DePaul and a former IRS agent, is available for reporter interviews at (312) 362-8388.