Advertising Is Tax Deductible on Schedule C Line 8
Schedule C is the tax form you fill out for your business, and what you spend to advertise your business goes on line 8, "Advertising." That includes Facebook and Google ads, flyers, business cards, and ads in the local paper. You write off the full cost.
These go on line 8, "Advertising"
- Facebook, Instagram, and Google ads
- Flyers, mailers, door hangers, and business cards
- Ads in the newspaper, on the radio, or on a billboard
- Sponsoring a local team or event with your business name on it
These do not go on line 8
- Design software, like Canva Other expenses list
- Gifts for clients Other expenses list, up to $25 a person
- A meal with a client Line 24b, and you write off half
- A sign or a camera that lasts for years Other expenses list, or line 13 to spread the cost over years
The "Other expenses" list is on page 2 of Schedule C, in Part V. Its total goes on line 27b.
These are not a write-off
- Ads that help a political party or candidate
Updated by Doug, owner of Shoeboxed. Rules from the IRS Schedule C instructions.
Why these marketing costs do not go on line 8
Line 8 on the 2026 Schedule C
This is the 2026 IRS Schedule C. Line 8 is boxed in blue. The other lines this page names are shaded blue.
Design software, like Canva, goes under Other expenses
Canva is a software subscription. The IRS puts software subscriptions on the "Other expenses" list, and you write off the full cost there.
Gifts for clients go under Other expenses, up to $25 a person
You can write off up to $25 a year in gifts to each person, on the "Other expenses" list. Pens and other small items with your business name on them don't count toward the $25. Each must cost $4 or less, and you must hand out lots of them.
A meal with a client goes on line 24b, and you write off half
Business meals go on line 24b, and in most cases you write off half the cost. Food you hand out free to the public to promote your business counts in full. See how much of a business meal you can write off.
A sign or a camera that lasts for years goes under Other expenses or on line 13
These last more than a year, so the IRS counts them as equipment. If one cost $2,500 or less, you can write off the full cost on the "Other expenses" list, under an IRS rule for small purchases, called "de minimis." If it cost more than $2,500, it goes on line 13, where you spread the cost over years.
Which ads you can write off
You can write off ads that are common in your line of work and help your business. The IRS calls this "ordinary and necessary."
That includes ads for what you sell. It also includes ads that keep your business name in front of people, like your business name on a Little League team's shirts, when you expect the ad to bring in business later.
Ads that help a political party or a candidate are not a write-off. That includes an ad in a political party's convention program.
Where 5 common marketing costs go on Schedule C
Say you run a house cleaning business and spend this on marketing in one year. The amounts are an example.
| What you bought | Cost | Where it goes on Schedule C |
|---|---|---|
| Facebook ads | $1,200 | Line 8, Advertising |
| Door hangers and business cards | $300 | Line 8, Advertising |
| Sponsoring the local Little League team | $250 | Line 8, Advertising |
| Canva, at $15 a month | $180 | Other expenses list |
| Holiday gift baskets for 4 clients, at $60 each | $240 | Other expenses list, but only $100, which is $25 for each client |
Line 8 gets $1,750 for the ads, the door hangers and cards, and the sponsorship. The "Other expenses" list gets $280, which is $180 for Canva and $100 for the gifts. The other $140 of the gift baskets is not a write-off.
Canva goes under Other expenses, not with your ads on line 8
Canva is the seller that the most Shoeboxed customers filed as advertising. It is a design app. Meta, which runs Facebook and Instagram ads, is next. Of the 1,158 Shoeboxed customers with an advertising receipt from November 2025 to October 2026, 118 had one from Canva and 91 had one from Meta.
A typical advertising receipt comes to $71, and half of them cost between $25 and $210. Canva is a software subscription, so the IRS puts it on the "Other expenses" list, even when you put it in your advertising category in Shoeboxed.
Shoeboxed advertising receipts, November 2025 to October 2026
10,380
advertising receipts
1,158
Shoeboxed customers who filed them
$71
for a typical receipt, where half cost more and half cost less
$25 to $210
half of all receipts cost between these two amounts
Shoeboxed counted the receipts customers uploaded from November 1, 2025, to October 31, 2026, in the Promotion / Advertising category. "Typical receipt" is the median, where half cost more and half cost less. The dollar figures use the 10,201 receipts with a total on them. Shoeboxed customers are mostly self-employed people and small businesses.
Keep each advertising receipt for 3 years after you file
The IRS wants a record of each write-off, and in most cases you keep it for 3 years after you file. Many ad receipts come by email, from Facebook, Google, or the print shop.
Forward those emails to Shoeboxed, and snap the paper ones with the Shoeboxed app. Our software reads the seller, the date, and the total, and we keep the receipt for as long as you have an account. When tax time comes, export the list or invite your bookkeeper in to see it.
Every Shoeboxed plan comes with a 30-day, 100% money-back guarantee. See the plans.
6 common questions about advertising on Schedule C
Line 8, "Advertising," is for what you spend to get your business in front of customers, like Facebook and Google ads, flyers, and sponsoring a local team. You write off the full cost. Software like Canva and gifts for clients go on the "Other expenses" list. Ads that help a political candidate are not a write-off.
Keep every receipt for your business in one place with Shoeboxed
Snap them with the app, forward the ones that come by email, or mail the paper ones to us in a Magic Envelope. We keep them all, ready for your accountant.
See how Shoeboxed keeps your receipts