Deducting "Other" Business Expenses

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a number of educational fact sheets reminding taxpayers to know the rules for deducting several specific business expenses. This fact sheet, the tenth in the series, reminds taxpayers to follow appropriate guidelines when deducting expenses that fall under the category of “Other” on the Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business.

“Other” business expenses account for just part of the overstated adjustments, deductions, exemptions and credits that add up to $30 billion per year in unpaid taxes, according to IRS estimates.

In general, taxpayers may deduct ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in conducting a trade or business. An ordinary expense is an expense that is common and accepted in the taxpayer’s trade or business. A necessary expense is one that is appropriate for the business. Although many common expenses are deducted on designated lines of the tax schedule, some expenses may not fit into a particular category. Taxpayers can deduct these as “other” expenses. A breakdown of “other” expenses must be listed on line 48 of Form 1040 Schedule C. The total is then entered on line 27.