[5 min. read]
Firstly, genius move making this your career. We’re diehard foodies at Revel and if we didn’t love what we do, we’d be right there with you. Instead, we’re the accountants for creatives, digital creators, and influencers and recently the most popular question we’ve been getting is: “what can I write off?” Now, our clients are a creative motley crew of masterminds spanning a wide variety of industries and the answer to that question very much depends on who’s asking it.
That’s why we’re doing a series of role specific write-off blogs and videos. Get ready for some foodie influencer tax tips.
Here’s 5 things you can write off on your tax return.
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Subscriptions (for research purposes)
You can write off subscriptions and/or memberships for tools, apps or sites you use to collect information about recipes or places you should check out for dining.
Details: You only need one receipt showing the cost per period (and an end date if applicable) to support the entire expense. Be sure to jot down the business purpose for that tool as well.
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Meals (for research purposes)
This is a cool write-off to use but never abuse. You can deduct meals for projects you’re working on, or getting paid for. Note the repeating of the phrase “for research purposes” doesn’t bless every meal or for meals out with friends. It must have a clear and reasonable link to the work you do.
Details: Do yourself a favor and jot the business purpose on your receipt. It’s much harder to remember later.
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Kitchen gear
You can write off any utensils and appliances you use in production to create content. If it’s not used for your work, don’t put it on your return!
Details: The basics will be expensed in the current year. For bigger-ticket or long-lasting items, you might end up depreciating the cost over several years.
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People you hire. Assistants, photographers, videographers etc.
You can write off the fees you pay people to assist and co-produce your work. Think of people like your executive assistant (or virtual assistant) or professionals who help with scheduling, booking, or signing promotions. It also includes people who help you create your content, like videographers.
Details: All the fees you pay them are deductible. Just be sure you’re in compliance with laws about the distinction between contractors and employees, and that you’re withholding the necessary taxes if they apply.
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Work-related travel. We repeat: WORK. RELATED.
You can deduct the business portion of a work-related trip. Work-related travel for a food influencer might look like reviewing a restaurant out of town or attending a food-related event.
Details: To arrive at the deductible amount of a business trip, you’re generally going to total up all the costs of the trip and then multiply by a percentage. That percentage should reflect the number of days spent working vs the total days of travel. For more details, ask your CPA!
So there you have it, our foodie influencer tax tips. Five write-offs you now definitively know can be declared on your tax return. Go forth, eat, and deduct (then tell us what you ate).
We think the IRS has content creators in their sights.
Currently, there’s very little by way of black and white rules for content creators and the IRS and it’s because this type of business is still relatively new. However, we don’t think that’s going to be for long. We have a hunch the IRS will focus on this industry in the near future which makes it all the more important to get your taxes in ship shape now.
There’s also been an influx of “TikTok CPAs” doing the rounds recently, telling their influencer viewers they can write off their car, groceries and/or an entire yoga retreat if they post a single picture on their grid. This is fundamentally not true. It’s why we’re taking the time to really get into the nitty-gritty of what you can and cannot declare as a business expense if you’re a content creator.
Ultimately, you can use our write-off blogs and videos as good guides to keep you in line but the best thing to do is to get a killer CPA experienced in your line of work. And, in the case of creatives, influencers, and digital creators, that killer CPA would be us.
Get in touch with us here by filling out our questionnaire then we’ll handle the rest.
