You can claim business expenses on a Sch C business without itemizing on the tax return.
These are two separate areas.
To claim business expenses you would need to use the TurboTax online Self-Employed to do this.
You may deduct up to $5,000 in start-up costs in your first year in
business. This deduction is restricted if you have over $50,000 in
start-up costs. If you have additional start-up costs over the $5,000,
you can amortize these costs over 15 years. If you are not going to be
profitable in your first year, you may want to consider another option
to minimize your taxes in years where you make more profit.
Instead of deducting $5,000 in your first year, you may amortize all
start-up costs over 15 years, taking the same deduction each year. For
example, if your start-up costs are $45,000, you could deduct $3,000 a
year for 15 years.
