The internet has allowed any bright entrepreneur to give space to their dreams and get started with their own company. Among many other aspects, fashion blogging and influencers have been taking over the world – and most social media platforms. But just like any other business, fashion bloggers are subjected to taxation and, with it, deduction – if you can use them correctly.
Some of the tax deductions you can leverage as a fashion blogger include clothes, outfits, and home-based business expenses. However, gifts, props, and equipment can also be claimed. Subscriptions, education, seminars, and online courses can be partially deducted.
If you see any income from your blogging efforts, then you are technically operating a business. Learn how to use taxation to your advantage below.
Claim Taxes for Clothes and Outfits
If you are working in the world of fashion, your whole personal and professional life will revolve around the latest trends and color combinations. While not all of your outfits and pieces of clothing can be deducted, you can certainly claim them if they have precise use.
Indeed, if your work outfit has to be specifically related to the work you do as a fashion blogger, you can claim it as a deduction. Effectively, if you can prove that a determined clothing item is important for the goals you wish to achieve and the image you need to portray, then you can write it off when filing your taxes.
Subscriptions Can Be Partially Deducted
The internet can undoubtedly offer entrepreneurs excellent opportunities without requiring them to face huge upfront or start-up costs. However, there are some aspects an online entrepreneur or fashion vlogger should not overlook.
Indeed, while you might not need machinery or tools, it is crucial to make the most out of the resources available to you. These include subscriptions and software that can facilitate your job (or are strictly necessary for it).
Some of these subscriptions include:
- Domain and hosting fees
- Internet and public internet access
- Data storage
- Software and licensing costs
- Software for taxes or accounting
- Stock photos services and purchases
- SEO-related costs (such as those for agencies and consultation)
- Website design costs
Education, Seminars, and Online Courses Can Be Claimed
The internet might have been offering you unparalleled opportunities, but the competition – especially for fashion bloggers – has never been fiercer. Therefore, it is crucial to start investing in yourself to keep improving and refining your skills.
The advantage of working in the sector is that your education and knowledge have been deemed crucial for you to remain competitive. So, you can deduct the cost of any expense related to education forms – including seminars, consequences, online courses, and training.
Claim Your Business’s Start-Up and Operatic Costs
Opting for an online business is a great way to keep start-up and operating costs to a minimum while seeing your potential earnings skyrocket. However, while limited compared to most other businesses, there are start-up expenses and operating costs, even in this sector.
These include all the tools, equipment, education, marketing, online services, and rental spaces you need to run the business. In terms of start-up costs, the IRS considers them necessary, and while you can only write off up to $5,000 in start-up expenses, you can pay the rest over the next 15 years while benefiting from depreciation.
Operating costs, which are also deductible to an extent, are those referring to all those products and services you need to run a business,
Deduct Marketing and Advertising Costs
As we have seen, the competition out there for fashion bloggers can be extremely fierce. So, while investing in yourself is the first step to setting yourself above your competitors, marketing and advertising can help you increase your brand’s visibility.
Indeed, the design you have picked will need to be aimed at the heart of your consumers, winning them over and aligning with their own values. Creating all this and communicating it through the right channels and methods is crucial to seeing your brand flourishing.
At the same time, digital marketing costs – including SEO, logo design, website, and blog design, and social media giveaways – represent one of the highest costs for fashion bloggers. Nonetheless, aspects such as flyers, business cards, website costs, social media ads, and online marketing campaigns can be deducted.
Cut on Equipment and Software Deductions
Creating content that captures your followers’ hearts and minds is crucial, but it can be extremely difficult to do all this without the right equipment and software. Indeed, some resources you might be using during your career will include:
- Microsoft Office
- Photoshop
- Canva Pro
- A new laptop
- A new camera – used for business and includes all the necessary accessories, such as lighting, microphones, and memory cards
- Business mobile phones
Depending on how you have purchased these items, the IRS gives you the chance to claim the total amount spent on them in the first year of your purchase or a portion of the total cost spread over several years.
Photoshoot Props and Equipment
It can be extremely hard to create always new, innovative content that is unique in its kind. For this, you are likely to need props and equipment that will make your idea stand out even more.
Because they are so essential, you can enjoy a tax deduction of props and items used during photoshoots. These include:
- Flowers
- Lighting equipment
- Clothes or garments
- Some pieces of furniture
Home-Based Business’s Reductions
One of the aspects that convince many capable entrepreneurs to become fashion bloggers is that the work can be done remotely. So, if you are a home-based business, you will be able to claim certain items, products, and services.
These will include items such as:
- Home office costs
- Business phone costs
- Some internet fees and utilities
- Repair and maintenance costs
These costs and deductions will vary depending on how you are running your business. While you might not be able to save an extremely significant amount of money at first, this can help you understand more of the types of help the IRS offers entrepreneurs.
Claim Costs Associated With Blog Sales
While it can be extremely rewarding to see your community of followers growing steadily, something that should not be overlooked is the possibility of selling items through your blog. If you are already doing so, there are some types of help you might consider. For example, you might be able to claim all the costs associated with shipping, postage, packaging, and transporting the items sold.
Entertainment, Travel, and Gift Expenses
Another one of the expenses you can claim is the one related to your entertainment, travel, and gift expenses. These will be necessary once you start to build a solid community you can count on.
According to the IRS, you can decide to deduct all the costs associated with travel, entertainment, and gift costs. As determined by the body, this is a necessary expenditure for all entrepreneurs in the field.
However, if you wish to claim such expenditures, you will need to prove that they are essential for you to be able to run your blog or platform with professionalism and in accordance with your values.
The same rule of tax deductions should be applied to all experiences, products, and services you receive – they will all need to be necessary to create and develop your brand.
Conclusion
Understanding the taxes fashion bloggers have to deal with is not always extremely easy. Indeed, in most cases, if you earn something per year, you can obtain a full business license. However, it comes with both taxes and deductions.
Understanding how to use such deductions to your advantage is key. Generally, you will be able to claim all those expenses that are vital for your business to exist and expand, including transport, equipment, software, services, homemade business equipment, tech, and education. Consult a tax advisor to understand more.
