I just started a small business. What do I need to know about paying taxes every year? Also, what kind of things can be used as write offs?
I have no employees and am basically self-employed. Not sure if that makes a difference…

WITH the economy in terrible shape, owners of small businesses could use a break. The tax code offers many to choose from, including some recent additions, and others may be on the way.

Businesses received a batch of concessions late last year, when several measures that expired in 2007 were extended to cover 2008, said Barbara Weltman, a lawyer and author of “J. K. Lasser’s Small Business Taxes.”