Office Supplies and Materials
What You May Deduct
You may deduct the cost of office supplies and materials you have used during the year. You may also deduct the cost of stamps and postage charges, and postage used in postage meters during the year.
What You May NOT Deduct as Office Supplies and Materials
Be careful to distinguish between office supplies and equipment used generally in your business to operate your office vs. supplies and materials used to produce products. The supplies and materials you use to produce products are included in cost of goods sold. In the same way, you can't deduct postage and shipping for products sold; these are considered part of your cost of goods sold.
You may only deduct costs of supplies and materials used in the current year. In other words, you can't just buy a large quantity of copy paper at the end of the year and consider it an expense in that year, since there's no way you could use it all during the year. Check with your tax advisor on how to determine an amount for this expense
Where to Show these Expenses
- For sole proprietors and single-member LLCs, show these expenses in the "Expenses" section of Schedule C
- For partnerships and multiple-member LLCs, show these expenses in the "Deductions" section of Form 1065
- For corporations, show these expenses in the "Deductions" section of Form 1120.
Disclaimer
This article presents general information; I am not a tax attorney or tax preparation specialist. Refer to IRS publications and refer questions to your tax consultant.
