Expenses You Can Write Off For Your Online Business

Business Expenses Can Help You Reduce Your Taxes

Whether you are a brick and mortar business or an online business, there are many ways to write off different expenses to reduce your business taxes. As most of my clients run an online business, let’s review how and when an expense is good strategy.

Tracking your business expenses is certainly not exciting or interesting. I do like to think of it as fun though because it gives you an excuse to go shopping and spend money! This is so you can write it off for your business as a way to reduce your taxes.

Unsure of what you could possibly claim as a qualifying expense with your online business? Download your FREE Business Tax Expense Guide.

Here are some suggestions too…

Conferences and Training

Knowledge is power and there are so many excellent conferences or courses you can attend in a year. Make sure to choose your top two for claiming as an expense. Your accountant or your bookkeeper will probably advise you not to claim any more than that. This is due to the fact if they are reviewed by the CRA they will probably be refused and you would  have to pay back the amount of tax credit you received.

Also, be mindful of training or retreats out of country. If something similar is offered locally Revenue Canada will deny your claim.

So go ahead and book that Video Marketing Conference you’ve always wanted to attend!

Computer Equipment

We all work with computers and monitors. So, how often do you replace your computer?

Does your spouse use your computer? If so, they would need a separate one so you can keep your dedicated one. Or how about a bigger monitor?

I often host group training virtually for my bookkeeping products, so I have no problem justifying a really large TV to which I can hook up my laptop. These are just some examples of the purchases you can claim as an expense for your business.

Little Stuff

There are so many small purchases you may not think of as claimable expenses in your online business, such as:

• Fees for website hosting, Paypal, Stripe, etc
• Online training programs
• Software licenses such as Quickbooks or Asana

Tracking

I'm going to say this in every post and video: Make sure you're tracking! Track, track, track, track, track.

Find a system that works for you. Use FreshBooks or Wave, use a spreadsheet, use pen and paper, use Xero (my absolute favorite), use QuickBooks...it doesn’t matter which one. There are so many tools out there: use something, or get help with it. Track your expenses because it saves you money, instead of giving it to the government. Who wants to give them more than you have to?

Timing

Just like anything else in life or business, don’t wait until the last minute!

September rolls around and you try to jam in everything before year end. Keep in mind, if you have anything that's under $500 you need to buy for your business, if you buy it at the end of December, you get the same credit on your taxes as if you'd bought it in January. So, you've had that money all year without getting you any benefit, and you still only get to write off 50% of it, whether it's January or December.

Tax Expense Checklist

Curious about the most common kinds of expenses when you're running an online business? Check out my FREE Guide below, including links to more details within the CRA website. 

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