Last Updated February 2022 by Crystallace

It’s that time of year again…tax season. Some of us look forward to it and some of us dread it. Maybe  last year you took a leap into entrepreneurship and finally decided to start that blog or YouTube Channel. If so, Congrats to you! Maybe you started this year, Congrats to you too! Either way this blog post is for you.

In this post, I will talk briefly about 25 tax deductions for bloggers to help you with your taxes and also help you keep those receipts along the way. I personally use Turbo Tax when doing these things because its quick and easy. The beauty about doing your own taxes is that the more you do it the more efficient you become at doing it. However, I must urge you that if things get too complicated or if you have questions or doubts, to seek the advice of a professional. I know I always do because the IRS is no one you want to play with. Ask Wesley Snipes. 

Oh, and make sure you Pin this article as a reference!

BTW, are you following me on socials? Let’s keep in touch! I’m on Pinterest, IG, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok

Here are 25 Tax Deductions for Bloggers and YouTubers

1. Website, Domain, & Hosting.
Don’t you hate all the articles and blogs that suggest you can start a blog for free? ‘Cause we all know there is hosting fees, domain fees, website servicing fees but thankfully it’s all deductible.

2. Subscriptions to apps like Hootsuite and Tailwind.
These scheduled post apps are the best thing ever. If you’re like me and you pay to get rid of the ads and maximize the app you can claim that on your taxes.

3. Computer.
You can’t blog without a computer.

4. Camera, recording equipment, editing software, & photo props
For the YouTubers that are recording, your studio equipment is deductible.

5. Cell phone & phone plan.
If you use your phone for business you can calculate the percentage of time used and claim that from your cell phone plan. If you purchase a smartphone to use for recording, editing, and social media managing like I do, you can deduct it.

6. Business cards & stationary.
Are promotional items and thus deductible. Office supplies that you use are also deductible.

7. Office Rent
This is Self-explanatory.

8. Advertising.
Sponsored posts, post boosts, purchasing followers (meh), or even paying another page for a shoutout are all considered advertising and they’re deductible.

9. Prizes & Giveaways (and the postage to send them).
These are considered promotional items so they’re deductible.

More Tax Deductions for Bloggers and YouTubers

10. Services.
Did you get so major that you had to get some help this tax year? Like social media marketing or SEO services? If so, those services you paid for are deductible. Maybe you paid to guest blog on someone else’s site that too is deductible.

11. Conferences.
Conference attendance and expenses.

12. Hotels & Dining.
For example, are you a food blogger? Are you heading to another state to check out a new restaurant? Any travel and associated travel expenses (like Uber and dining) for your business are deductible.

13. Subscriptions & Memberships.
Any subscriptions to content that will help you keep your blog up-to-date or any professional memberships.

14. Photoshoots.
“Issa photo shoot!” *Gucci voice*. Nah, but if you had to get any pictures taken for your business like a headshot or a photoshoot for your lifestyle blog, it’s deductible.

15. Government Fees.
Any fees for business licensing, registration, trademark, copyrights, or even tax preparation are deductible. I call them “Government fees.”

16. Credit Fees and PayPal fees.
When your business accepts payments through credit cards or Paypal, you get charged a processing fee.  You can deduct those fees along with any annual fees, late charges, or other fees on your business credit card.

17. Courses & Coaches.
Any  courses you use to brush up on your expertise for your blogging niche or if you use a business coach or other professional services like legal or accounting.

18. Paid music & photos.
Has anyone else experienced the ease of Canva when you pay for the premium package? You get to save and resize images drama-free. You also get to unlock paid images. You can claim these expenses and also purchasing those bops from YouTube for your videos.

19. Internet.
Any charges you pay for internet access. If you have a bundle package, be sure to calculate the portion that goes to internet.

20. Furniture.
Any furniture you purchase for the purpose of your business. For me, I purchase a lot of décor for my YouTube aesthetics.

21. Home Office + Utilities.
If you have a home office you can calculate the amount of space you dedicate to your work and convert that into a percentage. This percentage portion of your rent, mortgage, and utilities is deductible. So for example, if you have a 1000 sq. ft. apartment and you use 100 sq. ft. for work, then ten percent of your rent and utilities is deductible.

22. Books.
This is my absolute favorite because I have a BookTube Channel on YouTube. So I buy books galore for the purpose of my business but this can also be any books you purchase for your work such as e-books.

23. Products for Review.
Any products you purchase for review you can claim on your taxes. Just make sure you keep those receipts and proof that you did do a review on them.

24. Transportation.
If you’re traveling for work, Uber, tickets, fares, and gas are all deductible.

25. Insurance and Retirement.
If you contribute to a retirement plan as a sole proprietor you can deduct it. If you are solely self-employed and you pay your own health insurance, you can deduct medical expenses over 10% of your adjusted gross income. You can also deduct the respective portion of your renter’s or homeowner’s insurance.

I cover taxes and more in my signature course: Blogging for Bank: How to turn your blog into a business, legally. Join the waitlist now so you don’t miss out on introductory pricing, coupons, and more!

Here are some of the key features TurboTax offers. It’s easy to see why I chose them.

Industry-Specific Deductions: Exclusive to TurboTax Self-Employed, the Industry-Specific Deductions feature searches for unique deductions across diverse industries (including: online sales, rideshare, personal + professional services, consulting, construction, photography, real estate and much more) to help customers find unique and industry-specific business deductions they may not have thought about, making it easy to deduct the most expenses possible.

Effortless expense tracking, year-round: TurboTax Self-Employed comes with a complimentary one-year subscription of QuickBooks Self-Employed for year-round expense tracking, automatic mileage tracking, receipt capture, quarterly tax estimates and expense categorization throughout the year, so nothing is missed.

QuickBooks Self-Employed and TurboTax Self-Employed work together to maximize your self-employed deductions at tax time and track expenses all year so you can keep more of the money you earn.
Data is automatically imported from QuickBooks Self-Employed into next year’s tax return in TurboTax, giving customers an easy filing experience.

Expense Finder™ with QuickBooks Self-Employed: QuickBooks Self-Employed includes ExpenseFinder™, which proactively uncovers business expenses by securely gathering and automatically scanning your bank account(s) and credit card transactions recommending potential deductible business expenses, allowing you to quickly confirm which expenses apply to your business.

Personalized Audit Assessment: The NEW TurboTax Self-Employed Audit Assessment helps you file your self-employment taxes with complete confidence. TurboTax Self-Employed does an in-depth analysis of your self-employed income and expenses, compares your information against the IRS guidelines and checks for potential red flags to give you peace of mind.

Happy Tax Season! Do you plan on doing your own taxes this year? Let me know in the comments!

Check out these other blog posts:

The Influencer’s Guide to FTC Guidelines… So You Don’t Get in Trouble with the Feds: https://heycrystallace.com/the-influencers-guide-to-ftc-guidelines-so-you-dont-get-in-trouble-with-the-feds

Don’t Make These Blogging Mistakes: 10 Ways I Was Blogging for Broke Instead of Blogging for Bank™: https://heycrystallace.com/dont-make-these-blogging-mistakes-10-ways-i-was-blogging-for-broke-instead-of-blogging-for-bank

Why You Need These 3 Legal Pages for Your Blog: https://heycrystallace.com/why-you-need-these-3-legal-pages-for-your-blog