I have a jewelry making business. I purchased several small metalworking tools over the year. Can I add them as one asset or do I need to add each thing separately?

[mhubbard1]

Metal Dies, Metal punches and other tools

[AnnetteB6]

If they are expected to last longer than a year, they should be entered separately in case you had to replace one before it was fully depreciated.  

However, you may qualify to enter them as an expense instead of an asset, depending on the cost of the tools and the revenue of your business.  

Take a look at the information below from TurboTax help content for some examples:

Establish a policy for writing off your purchases

It's a good practice to decide ahead of time how you'll write off lower-cost assets, such as a $150 printer or a $300 desk chair:

- Expense it (write off the total amount spent as a general operating expense), or

- Depreciate it (write off the item over a period of several years)

It's common for small businesses with revenues of less than $20,000 to expense lower-cost items. This keeps accounting simpler.

Depreciating an item requires more paperwork and can add more complexity to your tax return.

[VolvoGirl]

If an item is under $2,500 you can expense it.  Enter it under Supplies or under Other Misc Exp.  That's where I put small tools.   You can just enter the total for Supplies or Misc.