25 Tax Write-Offs for Freelance Community Managers
NAICS business codeYour NAICS business code is a six-digit string of numbers that shows the type of work your business does. NAICS stands for North American Industry Classification System. When you do your taxes, you'll enter it in Box B of your Schedule C.541800
Reviewed bySabrina Wiechart, CPASabrina is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with over 15 years of experience in tax preparation, planning, and S-Corp compliance. She holds a Master’s in Accounting and specializes in helping self-employed individuals make smart tax decisions. Sabrina is passionate about simplifying the S-Corp process and making sure every client keeps more of what they earn.Online communities are tricky beasts, requiring careful oversight and a positive attitude. By comparison, saving money on your taxes is a breeze! Especially when you take all the write-offs you’re entitled to as a freelance community manager.
Simply by writing off the business expenses you encounter every day, you’ll be putting the ban on giving extra money to the IRS. And we’ve made things even easier by compiling a list of the best write-offs for community managers. It’s almost like having your savings go viral!
Deduct anything you buy for your office, like pens, binders, folders, printer ink, or a whiteboard.
Software you use for invoicing, tracking expenses, creating timesheets, and so on is deductible.
Software for scheduling or hosting meetings, like Zoom or Calendly, is tax-deductible.
Snacks and beverages you buy for a community event are tax-deductible.
If snacks are laid on broadly at a promotional event rather than shared over a business conversation, they may be advertising on Box 8 instead — which avoids the 50% meal haircut. Which one applies depends on how the event is run.
Write off programs like Canva or Photoshop that you use to make graphics to promote events.
If you buy a phone or laptop and use it for work, it's partially deductible — in proportion to how much you use it for business. The device itself is depreciated on Box 13 (or expensed under Section 179); your monthly service plan belongs on Box 27b, and accessories on Box 22.
Squarespace, Wix, GoDaddy, and other website service fees are fully tax-deductible.
Keeping up with the latest trends and techniques with books and courses can be written off.
This covers training that maintains or improves skills for the work you already do. Courses that qualify you for a new trade or profession are not deductible.
Write off the tools you use to create assets, schedule posts, or pull analytics.
Renting a venue for a meetup or community event is deductible as rent on business property.
Prizes and giveaways you run to promote your business are advertising write-offs. A single prize worth $600 or more may require a 1099 for the winner.
Write off the fees you pay to contract labor to help you complete projects.
Pay any one contractor $600 or more in a year and you'll need to file a Form 1099-NEC for them.
If you drive for work ...
It's no surprise that being a community manager often means driving around your community, whether to meet with contractors or community members, or to pick up supplies for the office or upcoming events.
Luckily, a portion of your car expenses can be written off when you drive for work.
Parking for a meeting downtown, or any other work trip, is tax-deductible!
A toll while driving to or from a work destination is tax-deductible!
If you buy a new car, you can write off part of the cost every year for five years.
Flashlights, tire iron, duct tape, and other tools you may need in your vehicle are deductible.
Car insurance monthly fees, registration, even roadside assistance are partially deductible — if you use the actual expense method. The standard mileage rate already covers them.
Oil changes, repairs, and regular checkups are deductible if you use the actual expense method. Take the standard mileage rate instead and they're already baked into your per-mile deduction.
If you discuss work at a restaurant ...
As long as the conversation is work-related, you can deduct the cost of going for a meal or drink with mentors, supervisors, community members, or other community managers.
If you discuss work with a coworker, mentor, client, or prospective client, it's a write-off — 50% of the tab.
If you leave town for work ...
While the cost of entry to conferences or workshops can be written off, you can also write off related travel expenses.
Go ahead and include these also if you need to travel out of town to attend industry conferences or workshops, or to meet with other community managers.
Planes, trains, and car rentals are all work-related travel costs that can be written off.
When you travel for work, lodging expenses such as hotel rooms or Airbnb are write-offs.
When you're traveling for work, your meals are 50% deductible — takeout included. (Long-haul truck drivers subject to DOT hours-of-service rules can deduct 80%.)
If you work from home ...
Community managers often spend a lot of their time in meetings — and these days, those are often virtual.
If you work from home, whether your time is spent in meetings, planning events, researching vendors, or managing finances and paperwork, you can write off a portion of your home office expenses.
A desk, chairs, lamps, and other home office necessities are all tax write-offs. Anything over about $2,500 gets depreciated on Form 4562 instead of written off all at once.
Repairs just for your home office are 100% deductible. Repairs to the rest of your home count too, prorated by your business-use percentage on Form 8829.
Gotta keep the lights on in your home office! A portion of your electricity bill counts.
Whether it's rental or homeowners insurance, you can write off a portion through your home office deduction.
It'd be hard to work in an office without running water, huh? Your water bill counts.
You need internet to do your job! If you claim a home office, deduct it prorated on Form 8829 along with your other utilities. Internet you pay for on the road, purely for work, is 100% deductible.
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