Tax Deductions for Content Creators: The Complete Guide
We both know your business is special. Content creation is much more fun and rewarding than the average 9-to-5 office job. However, it also comes with special tax considerations that other small businesses don’t have to think about. One of those is a list of tax deductions specific to content creation that you need to know about to make sure you don’t overpay on taxes.
We’ve put together a guide on tax deductions for content creators tailored to your business, so you can focus on what you do best, creating amazing content.
Content Costs
These are the materials you need to make the content you’re posting on YouTube, TikTok, OnlyFans, or any other platform you are on! If you buy special ingredients for your food content, props for your videos, different beauty products to review, or other items to use in your content, those are most likely deductible.
Marketing and Professional Services
The money you pay to the people who help you promote and run your business is typically a deductible business expense. The cost of online ads and the subscriptions you use for marketing and analytics tracking (SEMRush, Mailchimp, and the like) are also a typical deduction for content creators. You can also deduct expenses for accounting, bookkeeping, and tax services (yes, you can deduct your Cookie Finance costs!).
Technology and Equipment
All the technology you need to record and post your content may also be deductible. This includes your computer, phone, internet service, cameras, website hosting, lighting, and gaming equipment.
However, if you use your technology for both personal and business use, you may need to track the time you spend using these tools and only deduct the business usage. You can use a paper log, a spreadsheet, or an app that tracks usage for you.
And with more expensive technology tools, you may choose to take that deduction over time, which is called depreciation.
Entertainment and Travel Costs
This category of tax deductions can be tricky. You can write off business meals, travel, and expenses related to your car, but you need to ensure you keep excellent documentation to prove that the expense is not personal. Obviously, you want to hold onto the receipts, but you may also want to print your calendar to highlight business activities and meetings, keep brochures from conferences you attend, and hold onto any other documentation that shows the business purpose of the entertainment and travel expenses you deduct.
Personal Products
Personal products and clothing are another type of tax deduction that is common among content creators, but that also may be tricky to justify. For example, makeup products and clothing you purchase to review as part of your content or specifically to drive affiliate income may be deductible, but the same items purchased for personal use wouldn’t. Like with travel expenses, make sure you keep good documentation proving the business nature of the expense.
Some other common tax deductions in this category for content creators are hair and makeup for shoots, personal styling, gym memberships, and health insurance — these types of expenses keep you in shape to create content and ensure that you maintain the image you need to be taken seriously in your niche.
Conclusion
We know figuring out taxes and which expenses are deductible can seem overwhelming. But this guide will help you make sure you are deducting as many legitimate business expenses as you are eligible for. And we also have a handy downloadable guide you can keep handy to help you remember what you can deduct.
Want more guidance on tax deductions, bookkeeping, and the other business tasks that take you away from creating amazing content? Book a call to see how we can help.
