Question:
Shalom Rav, should maaser be after all bills and rent have been settled or before ?
And what the state tax on the individual , should we consider maaser before or after taxation?
Answer:
Thank you for your question .
The rule with giving maser is that a person can deduct business expenses, that have to be paid in order to run his business, and these expenses reduce the amount of money the business earned. This includes rent of an office, sales tax, electric, telephone and other bills such a transportation costs that the business had to pay. However after you made your profit, the rent for your home, your private electric bills are not included in reducing the amount of profit that you made. Regarding taxes, you can deduct Social security tax and income tax can be deducted from your income, because this money is taken away from your income. However real estate tax cannot be deducted as it is not because of your profit, but an unrelated charge. These are the general rules for American taxes.
Best wishes
Sources:
Igros Moshe Y:D 1-143, Rishon L’tzion 249-1.
