Marketing and Entertainment

[Slo4ndmt4x]

Where do I deduct business marketing and entertainment expenses?

[JamesG1]

To add self-employment expense in TurboTax Online Self-employed, follow these steps:

• Down the left side of the screen, click on Federal.
• Across the top of the screen, click on Wages and Income.
• Under Your income, scroll down to Self-employment.  Click Show more.
• Click on Start / Edit/Add to the right of Self-employment income and expenses.
• At the screen Your self-employed work summary, click Edit to the right of the activity.
• At the screen Here's your info, scroll down the expenses and click Add expenses for this work.
• Follow the directions to enter the expense.

[Slo4ndmt4x]

I'm on the desktop version and am adding business expenses on a business I own.   Under Business Expenses there doesn't seem to be a line for marketing or entertainment expenses. How do you add that as I know entertainment expenses are not 100% deductible. 

[AliciaP1]

With the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2018, most entertainment expenses became non-deductible.  If you have some sort of entertainment expense that qualifies, it is not classified as entertainment but rather is classified as the type of expense it represents.

Per the IRS:

In general, entertainment expenses are nondeductible. However, there are a few exceptions to the general rule, including:

• Entertainment treated as compensation on your originally filed tax returns (and treated as wages to your employees);
• Recreational expenses for employees such as a holiday party or a summer picnic;
• Expenses related to attending business meetings or conventions of certain exempt organizations such as business leagues, chambers of commerce, professional associations, etc.
• Entertainment sold to customers. For example, if you run a nightclub, your expenses for the entertainment you furnish to your customers, such as a floor show, aren’t subject to the nondeductible rules.

See Publication 463 for more details.

@Slo4ndmt4x

[RobiJisul]

It's a good idea to talk to a tax pro or accountant to make sure you're doing it right. They can give you the specific rules based on where you are and what kind of business you have. By the way, have you thought about working with a digital marketing agency?