Medicine and Technology Business as IC

[Seekerofthetree]

Hi Guys,

First time poster here.  I am an EM doc.  I was an engineer and developer before.  I currently work as an IC at a shop doing EM.  I also develop apps such as on the hololens I am working on developing apps to teach about cardiovascular disease, etc.  I hope one day these might make money but right now it is just an investment.  At this point since I do EM and this together can I claim it as part of my business.  The development cost and equipment or do I have to setup a second business for that?

Thanks,

Seeker

[jfoxcpacfp]

You probably can, but you would lose the ability to get a write-off for startup costs. Also, if you do not need a home office for your EM work but you do for your new business, you would not qualify to have one. Finally, you might want to separate the businesses simply to keep track of the results for your new business. What if one of your apps takes off and you want to expand and take on partners?

There are probably other reasons, but this is definitely an area you need to explore with your CPA.

btw, you might qualify for the R&D tax credit.