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This is a complex question that primarily relates to tax deductibility as a business expense, not just a marketing expense.   The short answer:   It depends entirely on the specific business use and how meticulously it is documented. For a content creator who is an online nutrition coach and whose content is explicitly about "everything that she eats during a day," the groceries needed to film that content have a strong argument for being a direct cost of goods/production expense, which is generally 100% deductible, rather than a limited "business meal" deduction. So thats a good start.    Key Considerations for Deductibility   The IRS (and similar tax authorities in other countries) generally requires an expense to be "ordinary and necessary" for the business. According to IRS guidelines, ordinary expenses are those that are common and accepted in your trade, while necessary expenses are those that are helpful and appropriate for your business.   Ordinary: This might be pretty strait forward and may not require any sort of documentation if you are enver auidted.    How to Justify the Expense (The "Necessary" Test)   To maximize the chance of deductibility, the content creator must be able to prove that the expense is necessary for their business. Exclusivity: The food should be used only for the content. If the creator buys a large pack of chicken, uses half for the video, and the other half for a personal dinner not shown in the video, only the half used for the content is deductible. (You may want to consider a food donation plan where all food that was not used in creating content is then donated to a local food bank. You would still want to document the cost for the food used in the content creation and the cost of the food that was donated, but it may lead to the entire cost for the food being deductible) Documentation: This is crucial.  Keep all receipts for the groceries. (qucikbooks self employed has a great tool that allows you to take a picture of your receipt and attach it to you expenses so you will always have a digital copy without having to keep the physical receipts) Keep a detailed log showing the date, amount, and the specific content created with those items (e.g., "Groceries for Monday's 'What I Eat in a Day' video, uploaded 11/12/25"). Use a separate bank account/credit card for all business purchases. The Danger Zone The biggest risk is that tax authorities may view the expense as a disguised personal living expense. If the you are eating the food shown in the video for her own sustenance, especially the excess food that was not used for a specific video, it could be argued that you would have bought the food anyway, making it a non-deductible personal expense. Groceries aren't usually tax-deductible in business. Not even if you’re buying snacks to stock your home office or groceries for a meal you eat at your desk. Why? Whether you have a business or not, groceries are a necessary personal expense when you're home. You would buy the food regardless. Unfortunately, that means it’s not a necessary business expense in the eyes of the IRS.

Yes, you need to issue 1099 to bookkeeper if payment is $600 or more.  You may also want to ask them to fill out form W9 that will provide all the info. you need to issue 1099.    **Please cheer or say thanks by clicking the thumb icon in a post **Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer" Regards, TurboTax Expert

A sole proprietor doesn't issue themselves a W-2.  They take what's commonly referred to as "Owner's draws".  Reporting profit and loss is accomplished by using a schedule C that records income and expenses.  You will be taxed on the profit, whether or not you take any of it out as owner's draws.  You may also take an owner's draw out of the company at any time, so it may be money you already paid tax on, if you had chosen to leave profits in the company from a prior year.   In addition to paying income tax on any profit in the year it's earned, you are subject to self-employment tax reported on schedule SE.  This in a way substitutes for the W-2 withholding an employer would do for social security and Medicare.     We have some great resources available on our Self-Employment Hub.   Hope this helps! Cindy