Vehicle & travel
- Business mileage at $0.725/mile (or actual vehicle expenses)
- Parking and tolls on business trips
- Airfare, lodging, and 50% of meals for business travel
Workspace
- Home office — the dedicated-use portion of rent/mortgage interest, utilities, and insurance (or the simplified $5/sq ft method)
- Coworking memberships and office rent
- Office furniture and improvements
Equipment & supplies
- Computers, cameras, tools, and machinery (often fully deductible in year one via Section 179 or bonus depreciation; larger assets depreciate on a MACRS schedule)
- Software subscriptions and app services
- Office supplies and shipping
Services & fees
- Contractors and freelancers you hire (file 1099s!)
- Accountant, bookkeeper, and legal fees
- Bank fees, payment processing fees, and business insurance
- Advertising, website hosting, and marketing
The big personal-adjacent ones people miss
- Self-employed health insurance premiums (for you and your family)
- Retirement contributions — SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k)
- Half of your self-employment tax
- Business portion of your phone and internet
- Professional education, courses, and industry subscriptions
The rule that makes deductions survive an audit
A deduction is only as good as its record. For each expense you want: the date, the amount, the vendor, and the business purpose — ideally with the receipt attached. Categorizing expenses as they happen beats reconstructing a year every April, and it also makes your quarterly estimated payments accurate instead of guesses.
FLO captures deductions automatically.
Scan a receipt and FLO extracts the merchant, amount, and category — separating business from personal — and maps everything to Schedule C lines for your CPA.
Download FLO FreeGeneral information for tax year 2026, not tax advice — deduction eligibility depends on your situation; confirm with a tax professional. See also: 2026 mileage rate & calculator and quarterly tax deadlines.