topic Question regarding write offs and how to do them on my TurboTax for free in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Question regarding write offs and how to do them on my TurboTax for free

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 10:17:10 GMT

I run a software as a service business online and collect payments via stripe. The main program from my business was programmed by myself on my $2500 MacBook over several hundred hours. Additionally all server configuration was done on my MacBook and some of it on my phone.

im wondering if and how I would be able to write this off? I’ve done over 10k in sales and assume I will receive a 1099 by the end of the month. Thank you.

Re: Question regarding write offs and how to do them on my TurboTax for free

ee-ea — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 09:47:17 GMT

You have to do a Schedule C. Schedule C is not in free software.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/import-export-data-files/enter-schedule-c/L5Fz3j5us_US_en_US?uid=lr0g4gw0

Re: Question regarding write offs and how to do them on my TurboTax for free

xmasbaby0 — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 13:42:06 GMT

You cannot use the Free Edition for self-employment income, which is what you have. If you use online TurboTax you will need online Premium, because you have to prepare a Schedule C for your business expenses. Or you can use any version of the CD/download and prepare a Schedule C.

Or...in a few weeks when it opens..

Use this IRS site for other ways to file for free. There are 8 free software versions available from the IRS Free File site

https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/self-employed/help/how-do-i-report-income-from-self-employment/00/26653

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/self-employed/help/what-is-the-self-employment-tax/00/25922

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2902389-why-am-i-paying-self-employment-tax

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901340-where-do-i-enter-schedule-c

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3398950-what-self-employed-expenses-can-i-deduct

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901110-do-i-need-to-make-estimated-tax-payments-to-the-irs

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/self-employed/

Re: Question regarding write offs and how to do them on my TurboTax for free

Opus 17 — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 14:43:36 GMT

You are self-employed. If you are a sole proprietor or single member LLC and not some kind of corporation, you are required to report your income on schedule C from your own accurate business records, regardless of whether or not you receive 1099 statements from your customers or clients.

Note that there is no magic source for one overall 1099 listing your income. A 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC is only issued by another business, if they pay one of their independent contractors more than $600 in a calendar year. If you have sales to individuals, they will not issue a 1099, and in many cases, even a business that purchases a product is not required to issue a 1099, depending on who is selling the product. (Apple does not issue a 1099 to Staples if they buy more than $600 worth of pencils in a year.) You are required to report your own income from your accurate business records.

You can deduct ordinary and necessary expenses. " An ordinary expense is one that is common and accepted in your industry. A necessary expense is one that is helpful and appropriate for your trade or business. An expense does not have to be indispensable to be considered necessary."

However, expenses are costs you pay for. You can't deduct anything for the value of your own labor. That's what your profit is for. If you spend 100 hours developing a product, and make a $10,000 profit, that's a very nice reward for your effort. If you had hired a software developer to code your business for $50 an hour, then you would have $10,000 of sales against a $5000 expense, so you would make less profit and pay less tax. But you can't deduct anything you didn't pay for.

If you have a computer that is used for business, that can be a deductible cost. If it is used 100% for business, that's easy. If used less, let's say 60% for business, you could deduct 60% of the cost, but only if you have some kind of reasonable records showing how you determined the business use percentage, that you could show the IRS if audited. Any equipment with a useful life of more than 1 year is an asset, rather than an expense. The cost of an asset can sometimes be deducted in the first year you use it in the business, but sometimes the cost must be spread out over the expected life of the asset (5, 7, 10 or more years, depending on the asset type).

Business expenses are discussed in publication 535.

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p535

You may want to schedule a consultation with a CPA who can tell you what you need to know about running a small business, including record keeping and tax obligations, so you don't get into trouble.