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Venturing to start a new sharpening business can be beneficial.  While there are many factors that play into your decision, a key player is often finances.  Start-up and maintenance costs are inevitable;  we have financing options to help you along the way.  There are also many tax deductions that make your transition into being a business owner a bit easier.

There are many beneficial tax deductions that can be considered when starting your home-based business; many can be taken every year.   Keep in mind that these laws can vary based on tax year and location.  Please consult your local tax adviser for current regulations.

Deducting your business start-up and growth costs

• Expense all building materials, tools and accessories needed to get your sharpening business started.
• Transportation expenses related to your business are deductible.  This includes gasoline to make customer deliveries, a percentage of regular maintenance and new tires.
• As your business expands, the purchase of additional equipment can be deducted as a business expense, which lowers your personal income taxes paid each year.

Write off your home office or work space

• Expense the space in your home or garage where you operate your sharpening business.  A garage or barn can also be considered a home office as long as it meets IRS requirements.
• You can claim a home office deduction whether you rent or own your home.  If you own, mortgage interest and property taxes can also be deducted.  
• Office related expenses including supplies and advertising can be deducted every year.

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Rick’s Tip

Cleaning or dressing your grinding wheels is a simple but needed maintenance to ensure good sharpening results.  It is important that you clean all tooling before you sharpen.  This will help extend the life of your grinding wheels.

Diamond and CBN (cubic boron nitride) grinding wheels only require to be cleaned.  When the grinding section looks dark grey, you should clean your wheel.  Every diamond or CBN grinding wheel should come with a white cleaning stick.  When cleaning these wheels, do not rub the cleaning stick back and forth against the wheel.  With the motor running, lightly touch the cleaning stick against the wheel a couple times.  You will see the cleaning stick pull the debris out from the grinding wheel.

When aluminum oxide wheels need to be cleaned they require to be dressed with a diamond point dresser.   These wheels will wear differently depending on what you are sharpening.  For instance, if you are hollow grinding a planer knife, a 5″ cup wheel will wear at an angle. Versus straight grinding a chipper knife, a 6″ cup wheel will wear straight.  In most cases when dressing these wheels you want to match the angle that the wheel is wearing.