The average freelancer overpays their taxes. Not because the rules are unfair — but because most people don’t know what they’re allowed to deduct.

As a self-employed person, you can write off every “ordinary and necessary” business expense. The IRS’s definition is actually pretty broad. Here are 15 deductions worth knowing about.

1. Home Office

If you use a dedicated space in your home exclusively and regularly for business, you can deduct it. The simplified method lets you deduct $5 per square foot (up to 300 sq ft, so a max of $1,500). The regular method lets you deduct a percentage of your actual home expenses — rent or mortgage interest, utilities, insurance, and repairs — proportional to your office’s share of your home’s square footage.

The key word is “exclusive.” A room that doubles as a guest bedroom doesn’t qualify.

2. Half of Your Self-Employment Tax

When you’re self-employed, you pay both the employer and employee portions of Social Security and Medicare — 15.3% total. The IRS lets you deduct the employer half (7.65%) on your income taxes. This deduction comes off your adjusted gross income, so you don’t need to itemize.

3. Health Insurance Premiums

If you pay for your own health, dental, or vision insurance (not through a spouse’s employer plan), those premiums are fully deductible. This includes coverage for your spouse and dependents. Like the SE tax deduction, this comes off your AGI.

4. Retirement Contributions

Contributing to a SEP-IRA, Solo 401(k), or SIMPLE IRA reduces your taxable income dollar for dollar. A SEP-IRA lets you contribute up to 25% of net self-employment income, with a 2026 maximum around $70,000. A Solo 401(k) has even more flexibility with both employee and employer contribution slots.

This is one of the most powerful deductions available to freelancers. If you’re not using it, you’re leaving money on the table.

5. Business Mileage

Every mile you drive for business purposes — visiting clients, attending meetings, running business errands — can be deducted using the IRS standard mileage rate (72.5 cents per mile in 2026). At that rate, 10,000 business miles is a $7,250 deduction. You just need a mileage log.

6. Software and Subscriptions

Any software you use for your business is deductible: project management tools, design apps, accounting software, cloud storage, video conferencing, website hosting, domain names. If it’s for work, write it off.

7. Phone and Internet

You can deduct the business-use percentage of your phone and internet bills. If you use your phone 60% for work, deduct 60% of the monthly cost. Keep it reasonable — “100% business use” is a flag the IRS scrutinizes.

8. Education and Professional Development

Courses, books, workshops, conferences, and certifications that help you maintain or improve skills in your current line of work are deductible. Note: education that qualifies you for a new career doesn’t count.

9. Business Insurance

Premiums for general liability insurance, professional liability (errors and omissions), or a business owner’s policy are fully deductible.

10. Professional Services

Fees paid to your accountant, bookkeeper, attorney, or financial advisor for business-related services are deductible. If you hire a CPA to do your taxes, the portion attributable to your self-employment income (Schedule C) is deductible.

11. Office Supplies and Equipment

Printer paper, pens, USB drives, monitors, keyboards — if you buy it for work, deduct it. For larger equipment (computers, cameras, studio gear), you may be able to write off the full cost in year one using Section 179 expensing, rather than depreciating it over several years.

12. Marketing and Advertising

Business cards, website design, paid ads, social media promotion, logo design, copywriting — all deductible. So is your portfolio site or any platform where you market your services.

13. Business Travel

If you travel away from your tax home overnight for business, you can deduct airfare, hotels, ground transportation, and 50% of meals. The trip must be primarily for business — leisure trips with a little work tacked on don’t qualify.

14. Business Meals

When you take a client to lunch or have a working meal with a collaborator, 50% of the cost is deductible. The meal must have a genuine business purpose, and you should note who you met with and why. Meals when you’re traveling for business also qualify at 50%.

15. Startup Costs

If you launched your freelance business this year, the IRS lets you deduct up to $5,000 in startup costs in your first year (costs above $5,000 must be amortized over 15 years). Eligible expenses include market research, legal fees to form a business entity, and advertising before you opened for business.

The Key to Capturing All of These

Most freelancers miss deductions not because they don’t qualify — but because they didn’t track the expense at the time. A meal receipt tossed in a bag. A software charge forgotten in a bank statement. A mileage trip never logged.

numlr keeps your expenses organized throughout the year, so nothing slips through at tax time. Connect your accounts, categorize as you go, and hand your accountant a clean record instead of a shoebox. Try numlr free.