Top Deductions for Hairstylists
Whether you rent a chair, run a suite, or own the salon, almost everything you spend to keep clients in your chair lowers your tax bill. The trick is knowing which costs count as business expenses and keeping records that hold up. Here is where most hairstylists find their deductions.
Booth or chair rent
If you rent a booth, a chair, or a suite, that rent is fully deductible. So is any percentage you pay the salon owner on your service revenue. Keep your rental agreement and a record of every payment. For a renting stylist this is usually one of the largest write-offs on the return, so it is worth tracking to the dollar.
Color, back-bar, and product
The color, developer, toner, and back-bar supplies you go through are deductible in the year you buy them. The retail products you sell to clients work a little differently. They are tracked as cost of goods sold against your retail sales, but the principle holds: what you pay for inventory eventually offsets what you charge for it. Keep your distributor invoices.
Tools, capes, and equipment
Shears, clippers, dryers, flat irons, capes, towels, your station mirror, and your styling chair are all deductible. Smaller items you can usually write off the year you buy them. For bigger purchases, you may deduct the full cost up front or spread it over several years. Either way, save the receipt and note what it was for.
License, education, and insurance
Your cosmetology license renewal, continuing-education classes, the trade shows you attend, and your professional liability insurance all count. Education that sharpens your current skills is deductible. Training that qualifies you for a brand-new profession is not.
The small things that add up
Laundry for towels and capes, booking and payment software (including ApptOnly), your business phone use, and marketing all add up over a year. Keep them in one place so they are easy to total.
ApptOnly's Finances page runs your tax math as you earn, so you can see what to set aside before the next quarterly deadline rolls around.
This isn't tax advice. Tax rules change and individual situations vary. Talk to a CPA for guidance specific to your business.