Contents
Important Changes for 1999 .............
1
Introduction ........................................
1
Who Is a Direct Seller? ......................
2
Basic Tax Information .......................
2
Business Income ................................
4
Capital Expenses ...............................
6
Cost Recovery ....................................
6
Business Expenses ...........................
7
Business Use of Your Home ............
9
Travel and Transportation .................
9
Meals and Entertainment ..................
10
Business Gifts ....................................
11
Not-for-Profit Limit .............................
12
Recordkeeping ...................................
12
Sample Filled-In Forms .....................
13
How To Get More Information ..........
18
Index ....................................................
19
Important Changes
for 1999
Standard mileage rate.
The standard mile-
age rate for the cost of operating your car in
1999 is 321/2 cents a mile for all business
miles driven before April 1. The rate is 31
cents a mile for all business miles driven after
March 31.
Photographs of missing children.
The
Internal Revenue Service is a proud partner
with the National Center for Missing and Ex-
ploited Children. Photographs of missing
children selected by the Center may appear
in this publication on pages that would other-
wise be blank.
You can help bring these
children home by looking at the photographs
and calling 1–800–THE–LOST (1–800–843–
5678) if you recognize a child.
Introduction
This publication explains general tax infor-
mation of interest to direct sellers. For exam-
ple, it covers how to treat income, expenses,
and other items related to having a direct-
sales business. It also illustrates two filled-in
tax forms that most direct sellers must file
along with Form 1040. They are Schedule C
(Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business,
and Schedule SE (Form 1040), Self-
Employment Tax.
Who is a direct seller?
Some of the char-
acteristics that identify direct sellers are listed
below. A more complete discussion is con-
tained under the heading Who Is a Direct
Seller?, later.
• How you sell. You sell consumer pro-
ducts to others on a person-to-person
Department
of the
Treasury
Internal
Revenue
Service
Publication 911
Cat. No. 60031B
Direct Sellers
For use in preparing
1999 Returns
