<p>M2CK’s post above fails to address this concern. The OP is not complaining that her business expenses were added back in to reach her “true” income . . . she’s just trying to figure out how her cell phone & car expenses ended up being valued at $80,000!</p>
<p>I wasn’t including everything…There could be a host of other deductions that the OP took…Car lease/payments, gasoline, car insurance, a portion of home mortgage/rent, a portion of electricity/water/gas, depreciation of various things, hotels, restaurant, plane trips, etc. Business people can really stretch the meaning of a “business expense” when they want to…</p>
<p>My brother owns a rental in Paris, he can deduct at least one trip per year to Paris. Maybe two? </p>
<p>I have rental property. I can deduct a bunch of stuff, but I’m careful not to deduct things that are really personal expenses. </p>
<p>We didn’t apply for FA because we knew that we’d never qualify because of the rental values, rent income, H’s income, etc.</p>
<p>If I remember correctly (and I might not), I think CSS schools also add back in the “employer portion” of FICA for the self employed.</p>
<p>Also, I did address the fact that the OP’s H’s business took a loss. Well, Emory probably doesn’t see the business as a total loss. If he took depreciation, that was likely added back in.</p>
<p>Again, I don’t believe the family truly lived on $22k per year.</p>