21 Tax Write-Offs for Railroad Contractors
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.811310
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.Learning to file your taxes as a railroad contractor can be stressful. But we have just the ticket to help make the road ahead a little easier to navigate: a list of write-offs that railroad workers typically qualify for!
By tracking the money you spend on things like safety training, licensing fees, protective gear, and the other work-related expenses that we've listed below, you'll find yourself on the right track to tax savings.
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.
Any required training on safety protocols 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 protective gear, like goggles and gloves, you wear on the job.
Fees to renew your license to perform your work are fully 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 belong to a union, go ahead and write off your dues . The share of your dues that goes toward lobbying isn't deductible — your organization can tell you what percentage that is.
Where a union spends part of your dues on lobbying, that portion is not deductible.
Protecting yourself and your business with liability insurance? It's a write-off.
Testing your work requires you to pay for out of pocket is deductible.
Fees for required background checks to do your job are 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.
Legal fees paid to set up your business or draw up paperwork are deductible.
Do you pay a professional to audit your financial records and take care of your tax planning? Their fees are a write-off.
Print and online advertising costs for your business are considered write-offs.
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.
If you drive for work ...
You don't need to drive your car every day for work to claim related car expenses. Even the odd trip downtown to pick up necessary supplies, or a drive between job sites, counts.
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 ...
Business meals are tax-deductible, so if you meet a fellow railroad worker at a restaurant to talk about work, you can write it off.
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 ...
It can be full steam ahead on tax savings if you claim costs associated with business travel, like attending an industry conference or workshop.
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 take an online course, do industry research, or manage client paperwork from a designated at-home workspace, welcome aboard the home office deductions train!
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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