Common Deductible Business Expenses

One of the questions that's come up in our Premium-Green Writer's Group is what you can write off as an expense. So I’m giving you a general list of tax write-offs for contractors (which is what a freelance writer is), and you can check off, or apply these to your business, and see if they fit.

COMMON DEDUCTIBLE BUSINESS EXPENSES

Note: Probably no business will have all of these expenses. Your business may have different categories of expenses. Don’t agonize over which category an expense belongs to.

Advertising
Accounting/bookkeeping fees
Bank service charges
Car and truck expenses
Client consultation and supervision fees (for therapists)
Contract labor (outside services, subcontractors, etc.)
Credit card fees
Depreciation on assets used in the business
Dues
Education
Entertainment/business meals (Note: try to keep these low if you can...move to another category)
Freight
Gifts
Insurance
Interest on business credit cards and loans
Inventory/merchandise purchases (items the business has available for sale to others)
Legal and professional fees
Magazines and books
Maintenance and repairs
Office supplies
Online/internet fees
Payroll taxes (only for businesses with employees and only the employer’s share of taxes—not the taxes withheld from the employee’s paycheck)
Postage
Printing and copying
Rent/office in home expense
Sales or excise tax (only for businesses that collect this tax)
Small furnishings and equipment
Telephone (including pager, answering service, and cell phone)
Travel (outside normal business location)
Utilities
Wages (this refers to what is paid to employees, not to yourself or to independent contractors)
Website hosting, creation, design, or maintenance fees

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If you are in the midst of filling out your taxes for the year, instead of filling out simpler forms, itemize: You might qualify for tax breaks you hadn't thought of. And don't take a "refund anticipation loan," a high-interest loan offered by some tax-prep chains.

Good luck!