Quick Answer
Bloggers can deduct ordinary and necessary business expenses including website hosting, themes, plugins, software subscriptions, equipment, photography gear, home office, education, conferences, marketing, contractor payments, professional services, and payment processor fees. Personal expenses don’t qualify — and capturing every legitimate deduction can save thousands at tax time. The cleanest path is separated business finances plus consistent bookkeeping that catches every deductible expense.
If you run a blog as a business, you’re entitled to deduct legitimate business expenses against your blog income — and most bloggers I work with leave thousands of dollars in legitimate deductions on the table every year.
It’s not because they’re trying to evade taxes. It’s because no one ever told them what specifically qualifies for a blogger. Most tax advice is written for brick-and-mortar businesses or general freelancers, not for the specific reality of running a blog.
As a former government tax auditor turned virtual bookkeeper for online business owners, I’ve worked with food bloggers, photographers, lifestyle bloggers, finance bloggers, and content creators of every kind. The deductions follow the same general framework, but the specifics matter. Here’s the complete guide.
The Foundation: What Is a Business Expense?
The IRS defines a business expense as something that is ordinary and necessary for your business.
Ordinary: common and accepted in your specific trade or industry.
Necessary: helpful and appropriate for your business trade.
For a blogger, that means:
Your email marketing service (ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp): ordinary and necessary for content marketing. Deductible.
Your home internet bill (entirely): not 100% deductible because it has personal use. May be partially deductible via home office.
A new car: not ordinary and necessary for most bloggers. Not deductible.
The cleanest rule of thumb: if you use it for your blog and only your blog, it’s likely deductible. If you use it for both blog and personal life, it may be partially deductible (often via the home office deduction) or not deductible.
Website Costs
Your website is the foundation of your blog business. All website-related costs are deductible.
Website hosting (Bluehost, SiteGround, WP Engine, Kinsta, etc.). Deductible as a monthly or annual subscription.
Domain registration and renewal. Deductible.
Domain privacy services. Deductible.
SSL certificate. Deductible.
Premium themes (Genesis, Astra Pro, Divi, etc.). Deductible.
Premium plugins (Yoast Premium, Rank Math, ConvertBox, Tasty Recipes, etc.). Deductible.
Custom development work (a contractor builds you a custom feature). Deductible.
Website maintenance services. Deductible.
Backup services (Backup Buddy, UpdraftPlus Premium). Deductible.
Security services (Sucuri, Wordfence Premium). Deductible.
CDN services (Cloudflare paid plans). Deductible.
Page builder subscriptions (Elementor Pro, Beaver Builder, Divi). Deductible.
Anything that’s required to run your website is a business expense.
Software and Tools
Bloggers use a lot of software. Almost all of it is deductible.
Email marketing service (ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, Drip, MailerLite, Flodesk). Deductible.
Design software (Canva Pro, Adobe Creative Cloud, Figma, Affinity Designer). Deductible.
SEO tools (Ahrefs, SEMrush, Keysearch, Moz, Ubersuggest). Deductible.
Social media scheduling (Buffer, Hootsuite, Later, Tailwind, MeetEdgar). Deductible.
Photo editing (Lightroom, Photoshop, VSCO, Snapseed pro features). Deductible.
Video editing (Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, ScreenFlow, Camtasia). Deductible.
Stock photo subscriptions (Unsplash+, Shutterstock, Adobe Stock). Deductible.
Project management tools (Asana, Trello premium, ClickUp, Notion). Deductible.
Calendar/scheduling (Calendly, Acuity, SavvyCal). Deductible.
Document/storage (Google Workspace, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box). Deductible.
Communication tools (Slack, Loom, Zoom). Deductible.
AI tools (ChatGPT Plus, Claude, Jasper, Copy.ai). Deductible if used for business.
Accounting/bookkeeping software (QuickBooks Online, Xero, Wave Pro). Deductible.
The rule: if you subscribe to the tool for business use, it’s deductible. If you use the personal version of a tool that has business and personal versions, look into whether you should upgrade to business pricing for clarity.
Equipment
Equipment used for your blog business is deductible. Higher-cost items are typically depreciated over multiple years rather than expensed in one year.
Computer or laptop. Deductible (depreciated for most cost levels).
Monitor(s). Deductible.
Cameras and lenses. Deductible.
Tripod and stabilizers. Deductible.
Microphone and audio equipment. Deductible.
Lighting equipment. Deductible.
Studio backdrop and props. Deductible.
Office furniture (desk, chair, file cabinets). Deductible.
Printer. Deductible.
Memory cards, hard drives, USB drives. Deductible.
Phone. Partially deductible based on business use percentage.
For equipment used partially for personal life, only the business-use percentage is deductible. A dedicated business camera is fully deductible; a camera you also use for family vacations is only partially deductible.
The cleanest setup for serious bloggers: dedicated business equipment that doesn’t enter personal use.
Home Office Deduction
If you have a dedicated workspace in your home used regularly and exclusively for your blog business, you can deduct a portion of your home expenses proportional to that workspace.
The home office deduction includes:
Mortgage interest or rent (proportional).
Utilities (electric, gas, water, internet, proportional).
Property taxes (proportional).
Homeowner’s insurance (proportional).
Repairs and maintenance.
Calculate either by actual percentage (square footage of office vs. total home) or by IRS simplified method ($5 per square foot of office space, up to 300 sq ft).
The requirement: regular and exclusive use. A corner of the bedroom doesn’t qualify. A dedicated room or clearly delineated section does.
Important: your kitchen table where you sometimes work doesn’t count if it’s also where you eat. The space has to be truly exclusive to business.
Education and Professional Development
Anything that maintains or improves the skills you use in your blogging business is deductible.
Online courses (about blogging, SEO, photography, content strategy, business). Deductible.
Blogging conferences (FinCon, BlogHer, Type-A, Travel Bloggers Exchange). Deductible — including travel, lodging, and meals (subject to current meal deduction rules).
Coaching and mentorship. Deductible.
Mastermind programs. Deductible.
Books on your blog topic or business skills. Deductible.
Industry publications and memberships. Deductible.
Workshops and retreats. Deductible if business-focused.
The IRS does require that education maintain or improve skills required in your current business. Education for a new field generally isn’t deductible. A food blogger taking a photography course: deductible. A food blogger taking a real estate licensing course: not deductible.
Marketing and Advertising
How you grow your audience is largely deductible.
Facebook/Instagram ads. Deductible.
Google Ads. Deductible.
Pinterest ads. Deductible.
Affiliate network membership fees. Deductible.
Influencer marketing or partnerships you pay for. Deductible.
PR services. Deductible.
Social media management contractors. Deductible.
Print marketing materials (business cards, brochures). Deductible.
Email list growth tools (ConvertBox, Sumo, OptinMonster). Deductible.
Banner design and graphics. Deductible.
Stock photos for content. Deductible.
Sponsored content fees (when you pay to be featured somewhere). Deductible.
Contractors and Hired Help
If you pay anyone to help with your blog, those payments are deductible.
Virtual assistants. Deductible.
Editors and proofreaders. Deductible.
Writers and ghostwriters. Deductible.
Graphic designers. Deductible.
Photographers (if you hire one for your blog). Deductible.
Web developers. Deductible.
Bookkeepers and CPAs. Deductible.
Lawyers (for blog-related legal work). Deductible.
Social media managers. Deductible.
SEO consultants. Deductible.
Important: collect a W-9 from each U.S. contractor before payment. Issue a 1099-NEC at year-end to anyone you paid $600+. For international contractors, collect a W-8BEN.
Payment Processing Fees
The fees PayPal, Stripe, and other processors charge are fully deductible.
They’re a cost of doing business — every business that takes electronic payments pays them. Don’t try to avoid them by funneling payments through personal accounts (violates TOS) or charging them back to customers (cheap and unnecessary).
Track them in your bookkeeping as a separate category. Your bookkeeping software should pull them automatically if you connect your processors.
Travel for Your Blog Business
If you travel specifically for blog business — to research a destination for a travel post, attend an industry conference, do a sponsored partnership, or shoot content on location — the travel is deductible.
Transportation (flights, trains, mileage). Deductible.
Lodging. Deductible.
Meals during business travel. Currently 50% deductible.
Rental cars, rideshare, public transit. Deductible.
Conference registration. Deductible.
The key: the primary purpose of the trip must be business. A vacation where you happen to write a blog post about it isn’t business travel. A trip where you’re documenting content, conducting interviews, or attending a conference is.
Document the business purpose of each trip with itineraries, conference confirmations, work products created, etc.
Office Supplies and Operating Expenses
Smaller recurring costs that keep your business running:
Office supplies (paper, pens, ink, folders). Deductible.
Postage and shipping. Deductible.
Bank fees and merchant fees. Deductible.
Business insurance (general liability, professional liability, cyber). Deductible.
Business licenses and permits. Deductible.
Memberships in professional associations. Deductible.
What’s NOT Deductible (Common Mistakes)
Some commonly attempted but disallowed deductions:
Personal grocery shopping (even for food bloggers — only ingredients for content creation are deductible).
Regular clothing worn during shoots (only true costumes outside normal wear).
Personal vacation trips with incidental blog content.
Pet-related expenses (your pet isn’t an employee or business asset).
Personal car expenses beyond actual business mileage.
Gym memberships (unless very specifically business-related, which is rare).
Restaurant meals you ate alone with no documented business purpose.
Family dinners where you happened to discuss business.
Hobbies that produce no revenue (the IRS may classify your “business” as a hobby if it consistently loses money — see “hobby loss” rules).
How to Capture Every Legitimate Deduction
The owners who maximize their deductions follow this pattern:
Separate business and personal accounts completely. Every business transaction in a business account. Every personal transaction in a personal account.
Use cloud bookkeeping software. QuickBooks Online or Xero. Connect your bank, credit cards, and payment processors so transactions auto-import.
Customize your chart of accounts for blogging. Generic charts don’t have blog-specific categories. Customize so every type of expense has a clear home.
Save digital receipts immediately. Forward email receipts to a dedicated folder, use a receipt-capture app, or attach receipts to transactions in your software.
Track mileage in real time. Apps like MileIQ, Stride, or QuickBooks’s mileage tracking work well.
Document business purpose for travel and meals. Save itineraries, note attendees, capture what was discussed.
Review monthly. Catch missed transactions and categorization errors while they’re fresh.
Work with a CPA who understands blog businesses. Generic CPAs often miss niche-specific deductions. Find one who works with content creators.
Special Note on the Home Office Deduction
The home office deduction is one of the most powerful for bloggers — and one of the most underutilized.
If you regularly work on your blog from a dedicated space in your home (and only that space), you qualify. The deduction includes a portion of your rent or mortgage, utilities, insurance, and other home expenses.
The simplified method ($5/sq ft, up to 300 sq ft, max $1,500/year) is easier but smaller. The regular method (actual percentage of home expenses) is more work but often larger.
Talk to your CPA about which method makes sense for your situation. The wrong method can leave hundreds or thousands on the table.
Frequently Asked Questions About Blogger Tax Deductions
Can I deduct my home internet if I blog from home?
Yes, but typically through the home office deduction (not as a separate expense), and only the business-use portion. The simplified home office method covers a portion of utilities including internet. Talk to your CPA about the cleanest approach for your situation.
Can I deduct courses I bought to grow my blog?
Yes, if the courses maintain or improve skills used in your current blogging business. Blogging courses, SEO courses, photography courses, business courses — all deductible. Be honest about what you actually completed vs. what you bought and never opened.
Are blogging conferences deductible?
Yes. Registration fees, travel, lodging, and meals (50%) for genuinely business-purpose conferences are all deductible. Save itineraries and confirmations as documentation.
Can I deduct payments to my virtual assistant?
Yes. VA payments are deductible as contractor expenses. Collect a W-9 from any U.S. contractor before payment. Issue 1099-NECs at year-end for anyone you paid $600+. International contractors require W-8BENs.
What’s the difference between an expense and an asset?
Expenses are consumed in the current year (software subscriptions, marketing costs). Assets last longer than one year (computers, cameras, equipment over a certain dollar amount) and are typically depreciated over multiple years. Section 179 lets you sometimes expense assets in the year purchased — talk to your CPA.
Ready to Maximize Your Blog’s Tax Deductions?
Your blog business is entitled to every legitimate deduction. Capturing them all requires separated finances, consistent bookkeeping, and a clear understanding of what qualifies.
If you’d like help setting up your bookkeeping to capture every blogger deduction, book a free discovery call and we’ll walk through your situation.
If you want to handle it yourself for now, grab the Bookkeeping Toolkit — it includes a blog-specific chart of accounts and deduction tracker.
Either way, don’t leave your tax savings on the table.
All information on this site is provided for general education purposes only and may not reflect recent changes in federal or state laws. It is not intended to be relied upon as legal, accounting, or tax advice. Always consult with a tax or accounting professional about your specific situation before taking any action.