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Are you making money from your blog? If you can answer yes to that question then you need to claim that money on your tax return. Throughout the year you should be keeping a running list of any income you receive from blogging as well as any expenses you paid out.
We’ve put together some of the main expenses you should be able to write off when doing your taxes this year. This list is solely based on our experience and by no means are we professionals when it comes to taxes.
For the most up-to-date information and the most accurate information for your personal situation, please contact a tax professional.
Tax Deductions for Bloggers
Below you will find a general list of items that might be considered tax deductible. Make sure you keep receipts for anything you purchase related to your website. Should you get audited you will want to ensure you have proof to back up any of the items you are attempting to use as a deduction.
Internet and Hosting Expenses
It costs money to run a website and these expenses might be tax deductible for you! Your internet service, web hosting fees and your domain registration are some of the expenses that might quality for a deduction. Be sure to keep track of your hosting, internet and domain registration fees so that you can talk to your tax professional about what qualifies and what doesn’t.
Conference and Other Travel
Have you traveled to a conference recently? If so you might be able to write off your conference ticket, hotel and any other travel costs associated with your trip. If your conference was paid for by a brand then it might not be considered tax deductible. Your accountant should be able to go over the details of your conference and let you know what percentage of your trip can be considered a write off.
Advertising
A lot of bloggers pay for advertising in some form. Advertising could be paying to have your button on another blogger’s page, promoting your posts on Facebook, using Google Ad Words or any other type of advertising. If you have done any type of advertising you will need to bring this up with your accountant, chances are it’s tax deductible.
Design and Maintenance
Maintaining your blog can be extremely expensive! You might pay someone to do the maintenance on your blog, maybe you use paid plug-ins or a combination of both. Either way these are expenses related to your blog and will probably count as a deduction. The same goes with any design work you have done to your site. Hiring a designer, buying stock photos, subscription fees to places like PicMonkey are all expenses you should be keeping track of.
Supplies
If you are purchasing computer equipment, paid plug-ins, business cards or office supplies make sure you are saving your receipts. Any type of office supply might be considered tax deductible. If you have a home office in your home you might be able to get even more deductions based on the square footage of your office and home. You should also keep track of any supplies you bought specifically for blog posts (recipe ingredients, craft supplies, etc) as well as cameras, lenses, and other photography equipment.
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Great information! Is this only applicable for blogs that are making money? Mine in brand new and isn’t making anything. Thanks!
Thank you for sharing, great things to know!
This is fantastic! thank you for sharing this article!
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Great ideas! Some of these I hadn’t even thought of!
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These are some really good tips. For year end tax planning tips readers may want to check out http://frommtaxes.wordpress.com/2013/10/08/2013-year-end-tax-planning-strategies-learn-what-can-be-done-now-to-save-taxes-and-prevent-costly-mistakes/
For small business the following link may prove helpful to your readers. http://frommtaxes.wordpress.com/2013/12/22/tax-planning-small-businesses/
Hope this is of service to you and your readers.
I’m wondering if this only applies to bloggers who have their own individual/business tax ID? Or can anyone do this, even hobby bloggers?
[…] Tax Deductions for Bloggers – What You Need to Know http://www.thesitsgirls.com/Throughout the year you should be keeping a running list of any income you receive from blogging as well as any expenses you paid out. We've put together … A lot of bloggers pay for advertising in some form. Advertising … […]
Thank you! This is the first year I will need to consider these things, so it’s great to have the information now so that I’ll be ready at the end of the year!
Really great and useful info! I didn’t know you could get tax deductions for all those things! Thanks for sharing.
Great information! I’m new to the blogging world this year, so hopefully the taxes aren’t too difficult.
Thanks so much for these great tips.
Wow! Had no idea so many things could be tax deductible! I like the idea of supplies, internet and hosting and such things being tax deductible. That is really good to know! 🙂
Thank for the information. Very Helpful !xo!
Great info! Thank you!
Great info…Thanks
Thanks for the post! I am pinning for later & to share in a community I belong to that has new bloggers.
This is helpful as I just registered as self employed and now have the nightmare of taxes and deductions to deal with!
Good to know! I’ll definitely be referencing for future use.
Great advice! I’m going to write off my blog for the first time this year and since I work from home, it’s good to know that there are so many other expenses that are write-offs I hadn’t thought of.
Good luck to everyone filing taxes!
One nice thing for taxes filed for years after 2013 is the simplified method of calculating the Home Office Deduction. The usage requirements are still the same (regular and exclusive use, principal place of business, etc.), but there is now a standardized formula so that you don’t have to calculate your actual expenses (if you don’t want to). You can find out more here: http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-%26-Self-Employed/Home-Office-Deduction
Great information Lydia! Thank you for sharing with us, I’m sure it will come in handy.
Interesting… I’ll have to check with my accountant to see which will be better for me. Thanks for the info!
Great list. Love that you includes Design and Maintenance. My favorite business expense is for business travel, just because it gets me out of the home office.
Fantastic info! Thank you! I hadn’t even considered a lot of these things!
Thanks for the advice!
Thank you for sharing. I’m saving this for later!