Are you engaged in a trade or business?
If so, do you KNOW what the legal definition of a "trade or business" is in the law?
You can find it in the tax code at 26 USC 7701(a)(26):
The term “trade or business” includes the performance of the functions of a public office.
There is NO OTHER definition of this term anywhere in the tax code.
FYI.
I've done both, but currently the situation calls for me to make a choice whether to rejoin the Trades or go independent again, and due to the political situation, I stand sort of in Limbo, doing neither....
Leaning toward Trade again....
Good, I always try to speak exactly so forgive my haste in saying "were" rather than "operated" a trade or business.
Businesswise, plan that the economy will pick up. Common sense is taking over.
Now the OP point is that if you're working for yourself you might consult 1040 Schedule C line 1 to see that it asks for "Gross receipts or sales". But on the instructions for that form, page C-5, what is the very first instruction for how to fill in this line? The instructions read differently from the form and are determinative! And the law is also determinative and has already been quoted to you.
People then say, oh, if I drew the conclusion to which these facts of the law lead, it would be crazy. Well, yeah, but that's no objection. Then they say you'd get in trouble. Well, perhaps, but the primary reason for that is that most people working for themselves get lots of 1099s and K-1s and other forms that are jurats copied to the IRS, and I've already explained what to do about those. If you follow the law as you read it and as your conscience dictates, you are acquitted before God and always have a route before men. Truth is worth any trouble.
The sovereign balances all his desires and goals for the world. He works where he pleases and accomplishes all he desires. He overcomes all challengers by virtue of his clear conscience, and whenever he does not see the strength in himself he tags his teammate and fellow-sovereign Jesus.
The Rich are Rich not because they save, but because they have ""Money Flow""....
As long as the Money doesn't stop in your Bank account, or hands, it increases based upon your choice of Investments....
It's a loophole that the Poor and Middle Classes cannot take advantage of, but a Business can through buying Equipment and having losses etc...
As for the Working man, all I can say is that he rarely reads what he signs, and that's exactly why he gets into lots of problems and troubles with the IRS and other connected criminals....
But Jesus has been saving for thousands of years. He must have better compound interest than this puny cabal.