31 Tax Deductions for Creators [2023 Guide]

Only two things in life are certain: death and taxes.

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Giving up a huge chunk of your paycheck to the IRS can hurt, especially for creators and influencers.

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But creators can actually reduce how much tax they pay by optimizing their tax deductions.

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Whether you're a creator on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or Twitch, here are 31 tax deductions that you can take.

Before we dive into specifics, let’s start with the basics: What is a tax deduction and why do they matter to creators?

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Unfortunately, the U.S. tax system tends to favor corporations over individuals, so freelancers like content creators end up paying a significantly larger portion of their earnings to the IRS. However, creators can leverage tax deductions to lower their tax bill by thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of dollars.

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A tax deduction (also referred to as a tax write-off) is a business expense that creators can use to reduce your overall taxable income, which then reduces how much tax you owe.

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Let’s look at an example: You made $100,000 and have $20,000 of eligible tax deductions. Instead of paying, say, 20% income tax on $100,000, you only have to pay 20% income tax on $80,000. 

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Instead of owing $20,000 in taxes, with the tax deductions, you now only owe $16,000, which is $4,000 in tax savings.

1. Tax deduction or tax write-off: See above.

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2. Depreciation: Basically, certain business-related property like computers and vehicles, depreciate in value over time. This tax deduction lets you write off that depreciation in value, usually over a fixed period of time. You subtract the salvage value (how much the property is expected to be worth after its useful life), subtract the purchase price, and divide by the expected number of years you use it.‍

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3. Useful life: The amount of time the IRS determines that a business property, like a car, provides value to a business. For example, the IRS says most cars have a useful life of 5 years.

Creators have unique business needs compared to the average small business. And, as any creator knows, those tools needed for content creation don’t come cheap. Luckily, since they’re used for your business as a creator, you can actually write off those related expenses.

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Here are some tax deductions you can take.

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1. Equipment (phones, laptops, cameras, and related accessories): Electronics and camera equipment are not cheap. But, if you bought any of these products exclusively for work purposes, you can deduct their entire cost if they cost less than $2,500. Otherwise, you can depreciate the cost over 5 years.

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2. Products for review: Lots of creators’ careers revolve around reviewing products. Since these products are necessary for your business, you can actually deduct their cost as a business expense. That being said, you have to use these products exclusively for review purposes, not personal use. There are some instances where you can take a partial deduction – for instance, if you use the product 20% for review and 80% for personal use, then you can only deduct 20% of its cost. However, this can be tricky to argue, depending on the product.

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3. Prizes and giveaways: If you’re hosting a giveaway or offering a prize, you can write off the entire cost of those items. However, if you’re a creator hosting a giveaway in collaboration with a brand, the brand can write off the giveaway as an expense, but you cannot.‍

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4. Branded merchandise: Creating branded merchandise is almost a rite of passage for creators – and it’s tax deductible! ‍Whether you sell your merch or make it for marketing and advertising purposes, you can deduct the cost of the goods.‍

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5. Creative assistance (photographers, videographers, and editors, etc.): Need to hire a photographer, videographer, or editor? You can deduct the cost of payment.‍

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6. Websites and software subscriptions: Got a website for yourself or your business? Have an Adobe subscription? Those fees you pay for website and software subscriptions are all tax deductible.‍

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7. Agent fees: Work with a talent agent or manager? Their fees are also tax deductible.

Creators can also take general tax deductions that apply to all businesses. Luckily, almost any expense that is incurred to run your business is tax deductible.

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Content creator or not, here are some general business deductions that anyone can take.

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1. Employees and subcontractors: It takes a village to create content. If you’re a creator who has hired an employee (such as an assistant) or contractor (like a video editor or social media person), their salary and wages are tax deductible.

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2. Commissions and affiliate fees: Do you sell merchandise – physical or digital – through a platform that takes fees, like Etsy or OnlyFans? Good news – you actually deduct those fees from your taxable income.‍

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3. Health insurance: Whether you’re self-employed or have formed a corporate entity, you can deduct your health insurance premiums.

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4. Legal and professional services: Have a lawyer? Accountant? Financial advisor? Agency? Or any other professional service that you pay to help run your business as a creator? You can deduct those costs.

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5. Bank fees: You can write-off monthly service fees, ATM withdrawal fees, and annual credit card fees, if they’re used in operation of your business.

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6. Membership dues: Belong to a membership or organizations that help you conduct your business? You can deduct those related fees. Unfortunately social organizations like Soho House, even if intended for business, are not deductible.

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7. Professional development: Attended VidCon or other content creator conferences, seminars, networking events, or online courses? Those fees are tax deductible because it’s related to your professional development.

Most creators work out of their home or studio space – which means, creators can also take home office tax deductions.

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The amount you can deduct depends on the percentage of your home that you use for work. So, if you use 50% of your home for business, you can write off 50% of your rent, mortgage interest, and property tax, and/or insurance. The only thing is, you have to use the space exclusively and regularly for business purposes; meaning, you can't take a deduction if you only use it a couple times a year to take an agent meeting or business call.

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You can also deduct portions of home utilities expenses. For things like home office furniture and equipment, you can take a full deduction, but only if it’s used exclusively for business.

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Here’s a list of full and partial deductions you can take for your home office or studio.

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Partial home office and studio deductions:

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1. Rent
2. Mortgage interest
3. Property taxes
4. Renters and homeowners insurance
5. Utilities - Wifi, water, electric, phone service

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How to calculate home office deductions:

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There are two methods creators can use to calculate their home office deductions: using simplified square footage or calculating the exact square footage.

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The simplified square footage method uses a set rate (for 2023, it's $5 per square foot) that you then multiply by the square footage of your office, up to max of 300 square feet.

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So if your office is 100 square feet, you multiply that by 5, to get a tax deduction of $500.

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The actual expenses method is more complicated but will probably give creators a bigger deduction. You have to figure out the square footage of your home office or studio space, then figure out the percentage of your home it takes up. You then take that percentage and apply it to your total home expenses.

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For example: Your office takes up 100 square feet in your 1,000 square foot apartment, which means it takes up 10% of your home. Your total home expenses (rent, insurance, and utilities) is $4,000 a month, or $48,000 a year. You then multiply 10% (0.10) by $48,000 to get a home office deduction of $4,800 for the year.

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Full home office and studio deductions:

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1. Office/studio furniture (i.e. desks, chairs, etc.)
2. Office/studio equipment (i.e. printers and other machinery)
3. Office/studio supplies (i.e. pens, paper, etc.)

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Generally, you can deduct the entire cost of any direct home office expenses, like furniture, renovations, and supplies. The only caveat is that they have to be used exclusively for business and home office purposes.

Driving to a meeting with your agent? Headed to VidCon? Dropping off merch? Basically, if you're a creator who uses a car for business purposes, you're eligible to deduct vehicle expenses (and sometimes even the cost of the car itself!).

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There are a couple ways to creators can calculate the vehicle tax deduction: the standard mileage rate and actual expenses method. You always want to choose the method that gives you the highest deduction, which you can calculate based on your usage.

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The standard mileage method is a fixed rate per business mile driven. For 2023, it's 65.5 cents per business mile driven. So, if you drove 10,000 business miles in 2023, you can claim a $6,550 deduction.

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You can also use the actual expenses method is the actual expenses you incurred driving your car, which includes gas, repairs, insurance, maintenance. Like with calculating the home office deduction, creators should determine the percentage of time they drove their car for business purposes, then multiply that percentage by their total vehicle expenses.

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You can choose either method, but common sense is to always choose the one that gives you the highest deduction.

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Vehicle expenses that qualify for deductions:

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1. ‍Depreciation
2. Auto loan interest‍
3. ‍License, registration, and insurance fees‍
4. ‍Car repairs and maintenance
5. Gas

Whether you’re a creator traveling across the world for a brand collab, or just driving across the city for a photoshoot, you can deduct any business travel expenses from your taxable income.

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Business travel expenses that qualify for deductions:

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1. Cost of travel to destination, such as flights or car rentals, including any baggage fees
2. Travel fare, such as taxis to from the hotel to business destination
3. Lodging
4. Meals: Actually, any business-related meal qualifies for up a deduction. Dining out during a business trip? Taking a client out to lunch? Treating your employees to a company-wide meal? You can deduct half. There is an exception for food content creators: If you are using the food as part of your content, then you can actually deduct 100% of the cost.

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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.