The write-offs most freelancers miss — including the home office deduction, health insurance premiums, and equipment — plus how to make sure you're actually capturing them before you file.
5 mins
Quick disclaimer: I am not a licensed tax professional or financial advisor. Nothing here constitutes tax advice.
I'm sharing what's worked for me — your taxes are your own responsibility. When in doubt, consult a professional.
Tax write-offs freelancers often miss
One of the best things you can do for your tax situation as a freelancer is get familiar with your deductions. Most people dramatically underestimate what they can write off — and that means paying more than they need to.
This lesson walks through some of the most common (and commonly missed) deductions for freelancers, plus how to make sure you're actually capturing them.
The home office deduction
If you work from home, this is likely your single biggest deduction — and a lot of freelancers either don't claim it or don't claim it correctly.
There are two methods for calculating your home office deduction:
The simplified method gives you $5 per square foot of your dedicated workspace. It's easy but often leaves money on the table.
The regular method calculates the percentage of your home that your office takes up and applies that percentage to your actual home expenses — rent, utilities, Wi-Fi, insurance, and so on. It takes a little more setup but usually results in a significantly larger deduction.
I use the regular method. My home office takes up about 24% of my home — it was an entire room in a two-bedroom house. Last year, I spent $13,000 on rent, which gave me a $3,000 deduction. My utilities added another few hundred on top of that. The simplified method would have given me a fraction of that.
To use the regular method, you'll need to know: → The square footage of your dedicated workspace → The square footage of your entire home → Your actual expenses (rent/mortgage interest, utilities, Wi-Fi, renter's or homeowner's insurance, etc.)
Your workspace doesn't have to be a separate room — it just needs to be a clearly defined area that you use exclusively for work. My first home office was a section of my living room. If you're not sure how to define it, tape it off with painter's tape, measure it, and take a photo. You probably won't ever need to prove it, but it's good to have for your records.
In your bookkeeping software, categorize all home-related expenses (rent, utilities, Wi-Fi, insurance) under a "home office" category. Good bookkeeping software will calculate your deduction percentage automatically — more on that below.
One thing to watch: If you're using software that integrates with TurboTax, double-check that it didn't revert you back to the simplified method when you imported. It can happen. Always verify.
Your bookkeeping software is a deduction-finding tool
I know paying for software feels counterintuitive when you're trying to reduce expenses — but good bookkeeping software often pays for itself in deductions you would have otherwise missed.
When all your transactions are categorized properly, you can see exactly what you've spent across dozens of write-off categories. Without it, you're guessing. With it, you're not.
I use QuickBooks — specifically the Solopreneur plan, which is currently $20/month (pricing does change, so verify before you sign up). It tracks all my transactions, categorizes expenses, calculates estimated quarterly taxes, and exports directly into tax filing software — which saves a ton of time when it comes to actually filing.
That said, it doesn't have to be QuickBooks. Keeper Tax is another option popular with freelancers — they have free calculators and resources on their site, and a paid plan if you want to file through them. The important thing is that you're using something that creates a paper trail and surfaces your deductions for you.
Health insurance premiums
If you're paying for your own health insurance as a self-employed person, you may be able to deduct those premiums. Same goes for out-of-pocket medical expenses once they exceed a certain threshold.
This one has some nuances depending on your situation, so I'd recommend running it by a tax professional or verifying with your filing software — but don't skip it. It can be a meaningful deduction.
The deduction checklist
Here's a non-exhaustive list of things freelancers can often write off. Go through this before you file and make sure everything is accounted for:
Review your return more than once
This sounds obvious but: don't file after one pass. I go through my taxes at least five times before I submit. Every time I go back through, I catch something I missed — a category I didn't populate, a deduction I overlooked, an import that didn't transfer correctly.
Tax filing software like FreeTaxUSA or TurboTax Premium will walk you through every deduction category, but it only works if you slow down and actually answer every question. Don't rush it.