As freelance writers, there are a lot of business expenses that we can deduct from our gross income at tax time.  This reduces the amount of taxes we have to pay, which is a good thing since the self-employment tax is so darn high!

A lot of freelance writers and other sole proprietors I know are much more liberal than I am about what they deduct, though.  I know writers who will plan business trips — such as a trip to attend a professional conference — to a city where a friend lives, so that they can write off the cost of visiting their friend.

I try to be very careful about making sure I’m only writing off expenses that can be justified, so if I planned a trip like that I’d be careful to only deduct part of the cost, the portion of the trip that is for business purposes.  If you need to save money and want to visit a friend, I suggest seeing if the friend can put you up while you’re there.  If not, you might be able to find a hotel deal online that would make the trip more affordable for you.

I just don’t think it is worthwhile to ever take a business expense that you couldn’t fully justify to the IRS if they audited you.  Sure, the chances of an audit aren’t that high, but is that really something you want to gamble on?

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