{"id":334,"date":"2019-11-18T18:53:27","date_gmt":"2019-11-18T18:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/taxpaws.com\/?p=334"},"modified":"2019-11-18T18:53:27","modified_gmt":"2019-11-18T18:53:27","slug":"tax-planning-for-bloggers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taxpaws.com\/index.php\/2019\/11\/18\/tax-planning-for-bloggers\/","title":{"rendered":"Tax Planning For Bloggers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Blogging\ncan be considered a relatively new type of business industry as the\ngovernment wants to tax online businesses. When a blogger creates a\nblog in order to gain business income, figuring out what can and\ncannot be deducted from your taxable earnings can be a daunting\nexperience. Since the industry is fairly new, the rules can be pretty\nconfusing for someone who is claiming this type of income for the\nfirst time. Please see the following list of expenses that can be\nclaimed on your return (if they make sense in your situation of\ncourse) along with a few items that probably should not be claimed\nunless it makes sense in your particular case. In order to achieve\nthe maximum legitimate tax savings, is of course, to hire an expert\nto help analyze your individual scenario. Here are some examples that\nmay apply to most bloggers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following are\nclaimable:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hosting fees, internet access fees, blog template and design fees\nare all part of running an internet-based business and can be\ndeducted. There may be times that design fees should be capitalized\nsuch as if the templates designed are going to be used for many years\nto come (though this is hard to determine so most people probably\njust expense it).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domain name registration fees, trademarks and patents are\nconsidered eligible capital property but they depreciate yearly. I\nwould make the argument that yearly domain fees are charged on a\nsubscription basis rather than being an asset. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Computer software such as Adobe Photoshop can be considered\ncapital in nature. The depreciation rate is 100% and is subject to\nthe half-year rule, which means you can only claim half the cost in\nthe year of purchase. Please note that some software changes year\nafter year and as a result an argument can be made for expensing it\nas opposed to capitalizing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ads purchased to promote the blog (such as facebook ads for\nexample) or money spent on SEO services, can be deducted from earned\nrevenues. You can also deduct items that you buy for prizes to give\naway on the blog as part of contests and promotional giveaways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you use your home as\nyour principal place of business, you can claim a portion of home\nexpenses (insurance, property taxes, mortgage interest). The amount\nyou can claim depends on the percentage of the total square footage\nof your home that you use for business. If you aren\u2019t exclusively\nusing the space for business, the amount you claim must also be\nprorated based on the amount of time you use it for business. This\nrule applies to any home based business \u2013 common sense applies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blogging equipment such as smartphones, laptops, or cameras are capital assets that you can be claimed on your return. However, you will have to deduct the cost of those items over a period of several years as the value of the asset depreciates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things that should\nnot be claimed (unless they can be justified):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outfits you photographed for the blog can seem like something you\nmay be able to write-off, but this is not the case. It may be able to\nbe claimed if it a uniform or a costume and is only used for business\npurposes, such as promoting the blog itself. Most clothes and\naccessories you buy and wear in everyday life cannot be deducted as\nan expense. People should take caution when making these types of\nclaims although I have seen some fly such as the Remax Realtor who\nhas the Remax logo embroidered in a few of his suits but again this\nmay be a one off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unless you are a fitness blogger and can prove that your gym\nmembership is a business expense, gym and other fitness fees are not\ntax-deductible. I would tend to be careful with this one as a fitness\nblogger may use the membership for personal purposes as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may feature your pet on the blog or other mediums such as Instagram, but any animal-related expenses such as doggy daycare fees and pet insurance cannot be claimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While professional association memberships are tax-deductible, you cannot deduct club membership dues (including initiation fees) if the main purpose of the club is dining, recreation, or sporting activities. Please note that this applies to all other business types as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When saving receipts for your blogging business, you should consider it a business first and foremost which means applying the rules the same way and asking yourself if the expenditures make sense. Common sense needs to be applied to what is claimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like any other business it is important to keep track of all revenues and all expenses and bookkeeping is very important.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"