Professional shears ($200-$1,500/pair), clippers, trimmers, blow dryers, flat irons, curling irons, color mixing bowls, foil, and other professional tools are fully deductible.
A hair stylist purchasing a $900 pair of Mizutani shears, a $400 Dyson blow dryer, and $600 in color equipment deducts $1,900 — saving $627 at 33%.
High-end professional shears ($500-$1,500) are a significant deduction. Keep receipts for all tool purchases.
All professional beauty supplies and tools used in your business are fully deductible. This includes hair color and developer, shampoos and conditioners, styling products, scissors, clippers, trimmers, blow dryers, flat irons, curling irons, capes, towels, gloves, and any other supplies used on clients. Product purchased for resale to clients is also deductible as cost of goods sold.
A hair stylist spending $4,000/year on color, supplies, and tools deducts the full amount, saving $1,200–$1,600 in taxes.
Keep all receipts from beauty supply stores. A dedicated business credit card makes tracking easy and provides an automatic record for tax purposes.
Booth rental fees paid to a salon owner are fully deductible as a business expense for self-employed hair stylists. Most stylists pay $400-$1,500/month in booth rent.
A hair stylist paying $800/month in booth rent ($9,600/year) deducts the full amount — saving $3,168 at 33%.
Booth renters are independent contractors — you can deduct all ordinary business expenses including supplies, tools, education, and marketing.
If you rent a booth, chair, or suite in a salon or barbershop, your rental fees are fully deductible as a business expense. This is typically the largest deduction for booth renters — most pay $200–$600/week in booth rent, adding up to $10,400–$31,200/year in fully deductible expenses.
A hair stylist paying $350/week in booth rent deducts $18,200/year, saving $5,460–$7,280 in taxes.
Booth renters are self-employed — you also qualify for the QBI deduction (23% of net income), Solo 401(k), health insurance deduction, and all other self-employment deductions on top of booth rent.
Web developers can deduct all development tools and hosting costs: GitHub ($48/yr), AWS/GCP/Azure ($1,200–$6,000/yr for client projects), JetBrains IDE ($249/yr), Postman ($144/yr), and any SaaS tools used for development work. Also deduct domain registrations, SSL certificates, and any hosting costs for client projects or personal portfolio sites.
A freelance web developer paying $1,188/year for GitHub Pro, $600 for AWS, $240 for JetBrains IDE, $480 for Figma, and $360 for hosting tools deducts $2,868, saving $1,061 at 37%.
Enter your email for instant access to MERNA strategy notes, IRS red flag warnings, action steps, and implementation guide.
Web developers can deduct online courses (Udemy, Pluralsight, LinkedIn Learning), bootcamp costs, AWS/Google Cloud/Azure certifications ($150–$300 per exam), and any technical books or documentation subscriptions. A developer spending $2,000 on certifications and courses directly related to their current work deducts the full amount as professional development under IRC §162.
A web developer spending $2,400 on Udemy/Pluralsight courses, $1,500 on AWS certification, $600 on tech conferences, and $300 on tech books deducts $4,800, saving $1,776 at 37%.
Enter your email for instant access to MERNA strategy notes, IRS red flag warnings, action steps, and implementation guide.
Every tool, supply, and product you purchase for client services is a fully deductible business expense.
Continuing education, licensing renewal, and professional development courses are 100% deductible.
If you drive to client locations, every mile is deductible — the 2026 standard mileage rate is 70 cents per mile.
Get answers to the most frequently asked tax questions for your profession.
Check any item instantly — G-Wagon, vacation, iPhone, home gym, and 70+ more.
