IRS Publications for Small Business and Self-Employed Filers

Publication 538 explains how to choose, change, and apply tax accounting periods and methods.

Publication 535 was the IRS's comprehensive guide to deducting ordinary and necessary business expenses; replaced by Pub 334 chapters and topic-specific public…

Pub 334 chapter 8 introduces depreciation, Section 179 expensing, and bonus depreciation for sole proprietors.

Publication 946 is the comprehensive IRS guide to MACRS depreciation, Section 179, bonus depreciation, and listed property.

Publication 505 covers withholding and estimated tax payments for individuals.

Publication 969 explains HSAs, HRAs, FSAs, MSAs, and similar tax-favored health accounts.

Publication 587 explains the rules for deducting expenses for the business use of your home, including the simplified method and Form 8829.

Publication 15 (Circular E) is the IRS's annual employer tax guide covering federal income, Social Security, and Medicare withholding.

Publication 15-B explains the federal tax treatment of employer-provided fringe benefits.

Pub 15 (Circular E) is the IRS payroll bible — it covers federal income tax withholding tables, FICA computation, deposit schedules, and the common-law employe…

Pub 15-B catalogs the fringe benefits that are excludable from employee wages — health, dependent care, education, transportation, working-condition fringes, a…

Pub 225 is the agricultural counterpart to Pub 334 — it walks through Schedule F (Profit or Loss from Farming), depreciation of farm equipment, and the special…

Pub 334 is the IRS's plain-English roadmap for sole proprietors and statutory employees — the single best free starting point for a new small-business taxpayer.

Pub 463 explains how a self-employed taxpayer may use federal per-diem rates for meals (but not lodging) instead of tracking actual meal expense.

Pub 463 is the canonical IRS reference for substantiating away-from-home travel, business gifts (capped at $25 per recipient per year), and vehicle expenses.

Pub 505 is the IRS's detailed guide to estimated tax — it walks through the safe-harbor calculation, the annualized-income method, and the underpayment-penalty…

Pub 526 covers individual charitable-contribution rules — relevant to a small-business owner because charitable contributions of a sole prop or single-member L…

Pub 535's compensation chapter explains when bonuses, awards, and excessive compensation paid to owner-employees are deductible — and when they are not.

Pub 535 is the IRS's catalog of which business expenses are deductible, when, and at what rate.

Pub 544 covers the gain or loss on the sale, exchange, or other disposition of business property — including the §1231 gain rules, recapture of depreciation, a…

Pub 560 is the IRS guide to SEP-IRA, SIMPLE-IRA, and qualified plans (including solo 401(k)) for small employers and self-employed individuals.

Pub 583 is the IRS's onboarding document for new businesses — covering EIN, accounting method, tax year, and the recordkeeping fundamentals every new sole prop…

Pub 587 walks through the principal-place-of-business test, the regular-and-exclusive-use test, the simplified safe harbor, and the daycare exception.

Pub 587 carves out a narrow exception that lets retailers and wholesalers deduct space used regularly for storing inventory or product samples even without the…

Pub 590-A covers traditional and Roth IRA contribution limits, deductibility phase-outs, and the rules around backdoor Roth conversions.

Pub 590-B covers IRA distributions, including required minimum distributions, qualified distributions from Roth IRAs, and the 10% early-withdrawal penalty exce…

Pub 946's listed-property chapter explains the special rules for vehicles and other property whose use lends itself to personal as well as business use.

Pub 946 walks through the mid-quarter depreciation convention that applies whenever more than 40% of the year's qualifying property is placed in service in the…

Pub 969 covers HSAs, Archer MSAs, FSAs, and HRAs — and explains why a self-employed filer with a high-deductible health plan should usually fund an HSA before…

Publication 583 introduces new business owners to recordkeeping requirements and the tax decisions made at start-up.

Publication 560 covers SEP, SIMPLE, and qualified plans (including solo 401(k)s) for small businesses.

Publication 590-A covers contribution rules, deductibility, and Roth conversions for IRAs.

Publication 590-B covers IRA distribution rules including required minimum distributions and early-withdrawal penalties.

Publication 334 is the IRS's primary how-to manual for sole proprietors and statutory employees who file Schedule C.

Publication 463 explains what travel, transportation, gift, and vehicle expenses you can deduct, with substantiation rules.

Publication 1779 summarizes the IRS's factors for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee.