Can I write off meals, clothes, hair and makeup?
Short answer
Meals are usually 50% deductible when you discuss business and can be fully deductible when the food is the content. Clothes, hair and makeup are generally deductible only when they aren't suitable for everyday wear or are required for specific content.
Otavio Mayole, Co-founder, DeCypher FinancialsUpdated
Meals
- 50% deductible: a meal with a brand, an editor or another creator where you talk business, or meals while traveling for work.
- Can be 100%: food that is the content, like groceries for a recipe video or a dish you're reviewing. We categorize that as video production, not meals.
- Not deductible: eating alone at home while you work.
Meals are one of the most scrutinized categories, so we keep them reasonable.
Clothes
- Usually deductible: costumes, branded pieces made for content, clothing rentals for a shoot, and items a brand contract requires.
- Usually not: everyday clothes you'd wear anyway, even if they show up on camera.
Hair, makeup and nails
These are generally personal. They can be a business expense when they're done for a specific shoot, especially when a brand brief or contract calls for the look.
One trick: ask brands to spell out the look in your contract. It turns a gray-area expense into a documented one.