25 Tax Write-Offs for Wedding Planners
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.812990
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.Love and marriage might go together like a horse and carriage. But freelancers and tax savings are also a pretty dynamic duo. And the #1 way to lower your tax bill is to deduct your business expenses when you file your return.
Most work-related purchases can be written off your taxes, like the cost of a ticket to a trade show or the money you spend on gas when driving clients to scout wedding venues. We know you're already good at keeping track of something borrowed and something blue. Now here's a list of write-offs for wedding planners, just for you.
Squarespace, Wix, GoDaddy, and other website service fees are fully tax-deductible.
Print and online advertising costs for your business are considered write-offs.
Business cards, postcards, and other materials used to promote yourself are 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.
Tickets and entry fees to networking events to grow your client base can be written off.
Your phone, its monthly bill, and accessories are all partially deductible, in proportion to business use. The phone itself is depreciated on Box 13 (or expensed under Section 179); the monthly bill belongs on Box 27b, and accessories on Box 22.
Subscriptions to wedding magazines, newsletters, and more are considered tax-deductible.
Write off what you pay for featured listings on popular wedding sites.
If you need to hire an editor, designer, photographer, or other creative pro, write off what you pay them.
Pay any one contractor $600 or more in a year and you'll need to file a Form 1099-NEC for them.
Protecting yourself and your business with liability insurance? It's a write-off.
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 ...
A wedding planner needs to have a sense of various local vendors and wedding venues that can suit the needs of different clients. This might include a fair amount of driving from spot to spot, whether you're:
Meeting with engaged couples or vendors
Attending the weddings you've helped plan
Picking up or dropping off packages
Luckily, you can write off car expenses to save money on your taxes!
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 ...
Say "I do" to tax savings by remembering to claim business meal expenses. For example, if you go to a restaurant to chat about your services or an upcoming event with clients, venue owners, vendors, or fellow wedding planners, you can write off the costs.
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 ...
If you get hired to work on an out-of-town wedding or travel to an event planning conference in another city, feel free to write off your travel expenses.
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 ...
Meeting with engaged couples or vendors, preparing budget sheets, or prepping materials for the big day are all things a wedding planner might take care of from home. If this applies to you, don't forget to claim your home office deductions.
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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