36 Business Expense Categories For Small Businesses And Startups

There are several different types of expenses that a business can incur. Understanding these expense types and how they work can help your company better budget its money and plan for unforeseeable incidents that may require additional funds. In this article, we explore what business expenses are, how to record them and list the most common types of expenses on your business financial statements.

• However, these payments do not have a lasting benefit for the business.
• Even if something qualifies as an expense, it is not necessarily deductible.
• To use my previously mentioned examples, it wouldn’t be a good idea to reduce your periodic expenses by eliminating oil changes, or not paying your quarterly business expenses.
• They also cannot claim lobbying expenses, penalties, and fines.
• The following sections describe the common types of costs that are typically included in the operating, general and administrative expenses.
• Plus, you’ll know when you’re close to hitting your budgeted amount for the month because you’ll see it.

Instead, it is added to the cost of the asset and charged as a depreciation or impairment expense over its useful life. Operational costs of sales offices such as electricity and rent. An operating expense is an expenditure that a business incurs as a result of performing its normal business operations. The IRS has a schedule that dictates the portion of a capital asset a business may write off each year until the entire expense is claimed. The number of years over which a business writes off a capital expense varies based on the type of asset.

Is the cost of acquiring raw materials and turning them into finished products. It does not include selling and administrative costs incurred by the whole company, nor interest expense or losses on extraordinary items. Sure, they may vary by a few dollars from one month to the next, but for the most part, they are fairly predictable. And since they are so predictable, the total amount you pay toward fixed expenses each month will essentially become your spending baseline. Since each expense is recorded under a category, you can see how much is spent on each category and how those costs change over time. This lets you prepare for an increase in wages during busy periods or increases in utility costs during winter or summer.

The discretionary portion of variable expenses are things like recreational spending. For example, buying a new pair of shoes that you didn’t technically ‘need’, would be considered a variable, discretionary expense. If you want to reduce your fixed expenses, here are a few of the best ways to do so. And while we normally spend time talking about specific expenses like your cable bill, your mortgage, and your debt payments, in this article, I want to focus on the broader picture. Save money without sacrificing features you need for your business. Expenses can be further broken down into two separate categories called “operating” and “non-operating” expenses. Although, all expenses are paid towards the operations of the business.

Communication Expense

Section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code is the deduction provision for business or trade expenses. In order to be a trade or business expense and qualify for a deduction, it must satisfy 5 elements in addition to qualifying as an expense. It must be ordinary and necessary (Welch v. Helvering defines this as necessary for the development of the business at least in that they were appropriate and helpful). Expenses paid to preserve one’s reputation do not appear to qualify). In addition, it must be paid or incurred during the taxable year. To qualify as a trade or business activity, it must be continuous and regular, and profit must be the primary motive. Sometimes, a cost can become an expense, effectively moving from a company’s balance sheet to its’ income statement.

When calculating the cost of goods sold for a manufacturing business, we need to take into account the cost of all inputs used in the production process. The calculation of the cost of goods sold is pretty straight forward for retail businesses, as you can learn from the example below. Cost of goods sold is defined as the direct costs attributable to the production of the goods sold in a company. The equation to calculatenet incomeis revenues minus expenses.

Types Of Expenses: Summary

This is the default category for any expenses that cannot be directly identified with the cost of sales, selling expenses, finance cost, or taxation. Operating expenses are related to selling goods and services and include sales salaries, advertising, and shop rent. Under cash accounting, the expense is only recorded when the actual cash has been paid. The necessary portion of variable expenses are things like gas for your car, your electric bill, and your monthly food budget. While they might not be a consistent amount, or occur at a predictable interval, they are still necessary. The easiest way to budget for fixed expenses, is to start each month with a copy of the previous month’s budget. That way, none of your fixed expenses will fall through the cracks.

This is because the business is not paying such taxes out of its own resources but from the income that is withheld from others. From time to time, however, you will stumble upon an expense that is too insignificant to create a separate category and which neither fits any of the categories of expenses that are created. Repair and maintenance expenses help to keep the assets of a business in good shape. An exception to this would be a retailer of stationery supplies or a printing press, in which case you will show these expenses as a part of the cost of sales. The cost of printing materials for marketing, such as brochures and pamphlets, is included in the marketing expenses, so do not need to be shown here. A provision for doubtful debts is necessary to account for any non-payments that are not yet obvious but can be reasonably expected.

What Can You Write Off As Business Expenses?

Allowable deductions must be directly related to getting the business up and running and organizational in nature, such as training staff and incorporation fees. You may be able to deduct up to $5,000 for startup and an additional $5,000 for organizational costs. Start by identifying the expense categories your business uses the most—that financial statement will help here—and ones that you’ll need to grow. Is slightly more complicated as it involves the accountant to track the period of lease that falls within the accounting period rather than just the cash flow. One thing you need to keep in mind when preparing financial statements of sole traders and partnerships is that the salary of owners is not considered as an expense of the business. Payment to owners are treated as a distribution of profits and are subtracted directly from the equity.

Knowing what these expenses are and knowing how they affect your budget are two different things. When you’re dialing in your budget, you have to approach each of these expenses differently, especially if you’re looking to trim some. Yes, you can deduct business-related expenses even if you take the standard deduction. Generally, if an expense counts as ordinary and necessary to conduct business, you can deduct it as a business expense. There is no comprehensive list because what counts as “ordinary and necessary” is highly dependent on industry. You’ll also gather insights that will enable you to create a financial statement that adds visibility into profitability and cash flow. These statements are required for audits and are often requested by investors.

Insurance Cost

Typically, a company’s financial expenses must be declared in the tax year the purchases were made. If the expenses missed were considerable and affected a company’s taxes, the company could then choose to file an amended tax return. Fixed expenses are sometimes the easiest to eliminate from your budget. I can’t tell you how many times when we’ve asked a client to review their monthly expenses, that they get surprised.

Accounting software also helps you to use the data from your expenses to run profit and loss reports. Doing so shows you the amount you’re spending in each category so you can assess whether you need to get your costs under control or if you’re on track. You can break down spending at specific time intervals to see how expenses change. These reports simplify the deduction process while revealing your annual business expenses. Business expenses are the costs of running a company and generating sales. Given that broad mandate, the IRS doesn’t provide a master list of allowable small-business and startup deductions. As long as an expense is “ordinary and necessary” to running a business in your industry, it’s deductible.

Personal Tools

A necessary expense is “one that is helpful and appropriate for your trade or business”. Allowable deductions are ones that are considered by the IRS to be both “ordinary and necessary”. But that goes back to the reason why having a budget is so important. We often say that with budgets what we’re doing is planning for 80% of your expenses. But if you’ve planned for 80%, the remaining 20% becomes far more manageable. Costs to protect intellectual property created by you or your employees, such as software code, a logo for your business or a patent for a new product or service. Payment of dividends on ordinary share capital is not considered as an expense of the company but treated as a distribution to owners.

In addition, expenses that are considered to be capitalized costs will be carried forward, but the depreciation amounts will change every year. This is standard for a new company with a lot of expensive start up costs.

The cost of goods sold is the cost of manufacturing or acquisition of the goods that have been sold to customers during an accounting period. It is subtracted from the sales revenue to calculate the gross profit in the income statement. Accrual accounting is based on the matching principle that ensures that accurate profits are reflected for every accounting period.

Business expenses are ordinary and necessary costs a business incurs in order for it to operate. Businesses need to track and categorize their expenditures because some expenses can count as tax deductions, resulting in significant cost savings. Fixed expenses are the kind of expenses most people think of when they’re drafting a budget. They are standard expenses that happen every month, on a certain day, and for a certain amount. Your mortgage, cell phone bill, car payment, gym membership, utilities, and Netflix are all fixed expenses. One of the easiest ways for business owners to categorize expenses and track spending is to use accounting software, which often has prepopulated business categories. You can amend or add as needed, and it will automatically compile transactions.

What Cant Be Written Off As A Business Expense?

Any spending considered a personal expense can’t be written off. In addition, you can’t deduct expenses related to client entertainment, with the exception of meals; fines or penalties for violating a law; country club dues; and illegal payments. By developing expense categories that fit your business and recording and organizing expenditures as you go, you’ll find it easier to get all the deductions you’re due. Taxation expense includes any income tax, capital gains tax, and property tax due on the taxable assets and transactions of a business. Usually, the cost of hiring external professionals is charged as an expense in the accounting period in which the related services are acquired. The cost of employees that work on creating a long term asset for the business, such as a building or a website is not expensed immediately in the income statement. The following sections describe the common types of costs that are typically included in the operating, general and administrative expenses.

Expenses are conversely reflected on the profit-or-loss statement that reflects the company’s net income or profits/revenues. The expenses are taken off the top of the monthly gross income thereby reducing the business’ overall revenue.

For example, a person who buys a new truck for a business would be making a capital expenditure because they have acquired a new business-related asset. However, the gas the person buys during that year to fuel that truck would be considered a deductible expense. The cost of purchasing gas does not improve or prolong the life of the truck but simply allows the truck to run. Business expenses are costs you incur while operating your business. Types of business expenses include everything from storefront rent to payroll costs for small business. Your expenses play a role in whether you’ll have a net profit or loss during a time period.

• If you can’t get a receipt, handwrite a record including the date, reason for the expense, amount, and vendor.
• Sure, they may vary by a few dollars from one month to the next, but for the most part, they are fairly predictable.
• From time to time, however, you will stumble upon an expense that is too insignificant to create a separate category and which neither fits any of the categories of expenses that are created.
• An example of a variable expense would be payroll for a company with a large amount of freelance personnel, or overtime expenditures.
• A capital expenditure goes straight to the balance sheet as an asset and then it can be expensed later as depreciation and amortization, which flows through the income statement.

Variable expenses vary from month to month and are typically a company’s largest expense. An example of a variable expense would be payroll for a company with a large amount of freelance personnel, or overtime expenditures. Having a savings account for each type of non-recurring expense means when that expense hits, your pulling from a savings account, not your monthly income.

One of the most exhaustive guides to what requirements need to be met for qualifying business expenses is the IRS publication 535. However, if you want a resource that’s easier to wade through, download our free overview guide.

Otherwise, the IRS may determine your business is a hobby and disallow expenses. An exception to this rule is where the services are obtained in relation to the acquisition of an asset, in which case its cost is accumulated in the cost of that asset. An example of this is the legal expense incurred on the purchase of a building. Insurance cost is not capitalized in the balance sheet because it is a recurring expense that is necessary to preserve rather than enhance an asset’s usefulness. However, if expenses are cut too much it could also have a detrimental effect. For example, paying less on advertising reduces costs but also lowers the company’s visibility and ability to reach out to potential customers. Depending on the type of expense, you might be able to deduct the full amount.