Checklist · 7 min read
40+ legitimate write-offs every freelancer, 1099 contractor, and self-employed worker should know — organized by category.
$5/sq ft up to 300 sq ft — $1,500 max, no records needed
Business % × (rent or mortgage + utilities + insurance + repairs)
Desk, chair, monitor stand, lamp, shelving
Paper, pens, printer ink, notebooks
Section 179 or depreciate — usually 100% deductible Year 1
Notion, Adobe, Figma, Slack, ChatGPT Plus, Claude, etc.
AWS, Vercel, Namecheap, Cloudflare
Track the % of usage that's business
If you work from home, claim the business share
Dropbox, Google Workspace, iCloud business plan
70¢/mi (2025) — track every business trip in a mileage log
Business trips only — keep receipts
Flights, trains, rental cars, rideshare for work trips
Hotels & Airbnbs on business travel
With clients or while traveling — keep receipts + note who/why
Tax prep, advisory, bookkeeping software
Business contracts, LLC formation, IP
Pay over $600/yr → issue them a 1099-NEC
Admin help, scheduling, inbox triage
Google Ads, Meta Ads, sponsorships, podcast ads
Design, dev, themes, plugins, copywriting
Logo, business cards, brand identity
Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Beehiiv
Self-employed health insurance — full deduction if not eligible for spouse's plan
GL, E&O, cyber liability
Up to ~20% of net SE earnings, max ~$70k (2025)
$23,500 employee + 25% employer share (2025)
$4,300 single / $8,550 family (2025) if on a HDHP
Skill-building related to your business
Industry books, journals, paid newsletters
Registration + travel + lodging
1-on-1 business coaching, masterminds
Stripe, PayPal, Square, Etsy fees
Business account fees, wire fees, FX fees
Automatic — calculated on Schedule SE
DBA filings, sales tax permits, professional licenses
Pass-through — not income, not deductible (just don't include in revenue)
Personal Schedule A — NOT a business deduction unless your business is an LLC taxed as a partnership/corp
$25/recipient/year limit — yes, really
Professional associations, coworking spaces, industry orgs
First $5,000 fully deductible Year 1; rest amortized over 15 years
SnapBooks auto-categorizes every transaction into Schedule C lines so deductions are claimed, not lost.
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