Tis the season for taxes! Right about now, all of the bloggers out there are sifting through expense receipts, waiting on 1099's and hoping that they get a decent tax return. Whether blogging is your full time job or just a side gig that gives you some occasional income, it's important to keep track of your expenses and income.
You may be wondering what expenses a blogger may have and that's exactly what I'm writing about today. There are lots of things you may be able to write off as an expense when it comes to blogging. My best suggestion is to not worry about what percentage of certain expenses will get counted because that's for your tax preparation person or software to do. From what I know, for things like utilities, they take the square footage of your home office and use that to calculate what part of your utilities goes towards that room.
So here are some expenses you may be able to take advantage of when it comes to claiming them on your taxes. **Please note that I am not in any way ANY TYPE of tax expert and these tips are just from my experience and what I've done.
Bills // You can claim bills such as utilities like water, electric, and cable (for internet) as well as your cell phone bill if you are using social media.
Meals // If you have blogger lunches or meet up with people to collaborate and you ate lunch at a restaurant or café, you can claim that expense.
Mileage and Gas// If you drive to attend events you blogged about make sure you note the mileage of your car before and after the trip as well as save any gas receipts if it was a long trip that required you to gas up.
Conference Expenses// Attending a conference and paying for registration is an obvious expense and so are any travel expenses you may have incurred like flight, train, cab fare, and hotel stays.
Clothing // If you purchase clothing for outfit posts or for events you attended to blog about you can claim those so make sure you note on the receipt if they were for specific posts, etc.
Web Hosting Fees // If you host your blog on a domain through a site like Go Daddy make sure you claim your yearly fees.
Advertising // Any time you pay into a group giveaway that counts as advertising. Any time you pay to promote a post on social media that counts as advertising.
Giveaways and Shipping Costs // If you routinely ship giveaway prizes to your readers you can claim those shipping expenses as well as
Items Purchased for Sponsored Posts // If you do sponsored posts and you had to purchase the product yourself, you can claim that as an expense to help even out what you'll pay in taxes on the payment you received. Make sure you keep your receipts and write on the top of the receipt which brand it was for.
Salon Costs // If you do a lot of photo shoots (fashion bloggers, etc.) you can claim any beauty expenses as long as they were done for your blog.
Office Supplies // Paper, printer ink, writing utensils, computer equipment, office equipment like staplers, etc. can all be written off as expenses at tax time. Keep track of all receipts as best you can.
Photo Props // If you have purchased items specifically for photos that you use as blog graphics or "pretty items" for your social media posts and you use those in multiple photos, go ahead and claim the costs.
There are probably plenty more items depending on who you are and what business you run but as a basic blogger this list should really give you a good start.
Make sure to print this list out and hang it somewhere in your home office or keep it in your blogging binder to constantly remind you of the things to track.
If you have any other suggestions of things you can claim at tax time please feel free to leave them below!
Such a great post!
ReplyDeletexo,
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http://firsttimethings.com/
Thank you for reading!
DeleteI always wondered about the expenses and you've set it out so well. Easy to refer to. I wonder as a DIY blogger, can we submit invoices for the tools we use to make things?
ReplyDeleteDo you have the receipts from when you purchased the tool? If not, I would try to print something that shows how much it costs at a local store. And then use that.
DeleteSuch good reminders!
ReplyDeleteYes!! Thank you for stopping by!
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