Are office supplies tax deductible?
Yes. Paper, ink, postage and everything else you use up running the business is deductible in the year you buy it.
The rule
Supplies are the things that get used up: paper, pens, ink and toner, postage, shipping boxes, cleaning supplies for the workspace. They are deducted when you buy them.
Materials that go into what you sell are cost of goods sold instead, not supplies.
A $120 order of paper and toner is deductible in full.
Priced at 36¢ on the dollar, the rate of a $95,000 sole proprietor in California. Work out yours.
- Where it goes
- Schedule C line 18, office expense, or line 22, supplies
- What to keep
- The receipts.
Checked on September 25, 2026 against Instructions for Schedule C and Publication 334, Tax Guide for Small Business. An estimate for your records, not tax advice.
By the kind of work
What else each of these can deduct, and what they tend to miss.
See it on every receipt.
Snap it and Reimburse files it on the right Schedule C line, takes the deductible share and shows what it puts back.