33 Tax Write-Offs for Physicians in Private Practice
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.621111
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.Running your own practice comes with a lot of perks, but the increased tax burden sure isn’t one of them. Luckily, there are plenty of ways for physicians to lose a little bit of tax fat around the office.
From medical supplies to scrubs to the receptionist’s pens that patients are always losing, the everyday expenses of your medical practice can be used to save you money come tax time. Claim your write-offs to give your office a clean bill of tax health today!
Fees to renew your medical license and board certifications can be written off.
Any medical equipment required for your job is deductible on your taxes.
Lower-cost consumables — gloves, gauze, sutures — stay on Box 22 as supplies.
Subscriptions to medical journals like The Lancet and NEJM can be written off.
Write off any CME seminars you take to learn new techniques or expose yourself to cutting-edge research.
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.
Continuing education classes required to keep your job are fully deductible.
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.
If you rent an office to see patients, you can write this off.
Gloves, gauze, sutures, PPE, and sharps disposal you buy for your practice are deductible.
Write off subscriptions to software used to bill patients and insurance providers.
Do you pay wages to nurses, physicians assistants, receptionists, or fellow doctors? That counts as a business expense.
If you have employees, you'll spend money to take care of them with health insurance and other benefits. Write off what you pay for these programs.
Print and online advertising costs for your business are considered write-offs.
Squarespace, Wix, GoDaddy, and other website service fees are fully tax-deductible.
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 pay an accountant to track your income and expenses, you can deduct their fee.
Any uniforms you're required to wear on the job are considered tax-deductible.
This applies to clothing you can't reasonably wear outside of work. Everyday clothes don't qualify, even if you only wear them on the job.
Repairs, dry cleaning , or alternations for your uniform are tax-deductible.
This applies to clothing you can't reasonably wear outside of work. Everyday clothes don't qualify, even if you only wear them on the job.
Deduct anything you buy for your office, like pens, binders, folders, printer ink, or a whiteboard.
The DEA registration fee that lets you prescribe controlled substances is deductible.
Insurance premiums to protect you from malpractice suits can be written off.
Protecting yourself and your business with liability insurance? It's a write-off.
If you drive for work ...
If you drive a car to see patients at home, attend a conference, or get to a second clinic, you can write off a portion of your car expenses.
Keep in mind: The portion you can write off is equivalent to the percentage you use your car for work. So if you use your car 70% of the time for personal reasons, you can only write off 30% of your car expenses.
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 ...
Medical researchers, pharmaceutical representatives, nurses, or fellow physicians are all people you might grab a meal with to discuss work. This counts as a business meal, so the cost can be written off your taxes.
If you take your staff out for a team-building lunch, that also counts.
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 ...
The IRS lets you deduct travel expenses if the trip is directly related to your work as a physician, like attending an industry conference or, perhaps, making a house call to an out-of-town client.
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 ...
If you have an at-home workstation where you regularly conduct business, like conducting industry research or managing paperwork for your practice, you qualify for the home office deduction.
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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