28 Tax Write-Offs for Freelance Writers
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.711510
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.What could be better than getting paid to write? How about getting a lower tax bill simply because you’re paid to write? It’s true: as a freelance writer, you’re entitled to write off any ordinary business expense from your taxes. Whether it’s a writing conference or a new laptop, the purchases you make to further your career can also help you save money. So get those keys clacking, because there’s savings in your keyboard!
Educational books to increase your knowledge and skills are tax write-offs.
Software for CRM, lead generation, or email marketing is a write-off.
Legal fees paid to set up your business or draw up paperwork are deductible.
Business cards, postcards, and other materials used to promote yourself are deductible.
Software you use for invoicing, tracking expenses, creating timesheets, and so on is deductible.
Squarespace, Wix, GoDaddy, and other website service fees are fully tax-deductible.
All conferences and retreats you attend to enhance your writing and network 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.
Courses, conferences, workshops, and premium listservs: write off anything you pay for to enhance your skills or further your career.
Databases, apps, and other tools used to research a topic you're writing about can be written off.
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.
If you pay for cloud data storage to store files for work, it's a write-off.
Writing tools like Grammarly and Hemingway are tax-deductible. So are word processors like Scrivener and transcription software for interviews.
ISBN and copyright registration fees for work you publish yourself are deductible.
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 ...
Freelance writers spend a lot of time at their desks with a thought bubble above their heads almost visible. But you also might need to step away to pick up office supplies, or to drive to a client meeting, conference, seminar, writing class, or networking event. When you use your car for such work-related purposes, you can write off a portion 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 ...
Meeting editors, agents, lawyers, graphic designers, or fellow writers to talk about work over food or drink might not be a novel idea, but it is a good one: networking and information-sharing are key to success as a freelancer. And the good news is these business meals are tax-deductible.
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 ...
Not all out-of-town conferences, seminars, classes, or client meetings will end up being something to write home about. But you can write travel costs associated with those trips off on your taxes, as they qualify as business trips.
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 ...
You don't have to be at home working from Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, to claim home office deductions. As a freelance writer, you likely set your own hours and decide when to work on completing assignments, researching topics, client development, finance and expense management, and marketing services. So long as the majority of this work happens from a designated workspace in your home, you can write home office expenses off on your taxes.
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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