27 Tax Write-Offs for Freelance Photographers
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.541920
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.Photographers are used to seeing beauty in even the ugliest circumstances. But even we’ll admit, it can be hard to see the beauty in a tax return. Let’s turn that negative into a lushly colored print: There’s one simple trick that all freelance photographers can use, and it doesn’t require any time to develop.
Simply by using the everyday expenses you rack up for your business — from filming equipment to travel expenses getting to a location for a shoot and more — you can lower the exposure of your tax bill. Soon your savings will be as pretty as a picture!
Your camera, tripods, lenses, and other equipment are all tax-deductible.
Lower-cost accessories — memory cards, cables, small grips — stay on Box 22 as supplies.
Subscriptions and licenses for Photoshop, Lightroom, and other software can be deducted.
A studio or office space you rent to host photoshoots, develop film, or do other work is tax-deductible.
Courses in lighting, retouching, or editing software like Lightroom 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.
Props you buy for photoshoots with clients are considered write-offs.
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.
Squarespace, Wix, GoDaddy, and other website service fees are fully tax-deductible.
Ad campaigns on Google, Meta, TikTok, and more are all deductible on your taxes.
Need somewhere to store photos and client docs? Write off your Dropbox account or external hard drive.
Business cards with your contact information count as advertising expenses.
If you insure equipment or instruments, the insurance for them is tax-deductible.
Protecting yourself and your business with liability insurance? It's a write-off.
Legal fees paid to set up your business or draw up paperwork are deductible.
The cut Stripe, PayPal, Square or your invoicing platform takes on each payment is a write-off.
If you drive for work ...
If you drive for work, like to meet with a client, drop off film, or head to a photo shoot, bring tax savings into focus by remembering to deduct 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 ...
If you meet with a model, agent, client, or fellow photographer at a restaurant to chat about an upcoming shoot or other work-related topics, you can write off the cost of your food or drinks.
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 for a photoshoot in another city but are responsible for covering some of your own expenses, like transportation, hotel, or food, remember that you can deduct travel costs from your taxes.
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 ...
A photograph is worth a thousand words — and your home office expenses might be worth a good amount in tax savings too! After all, you won't always be shooting on location. And the amount of time you spend editing photos, marketing your services, communicating with clients, and doing industry research from home certainly counts as work.
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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