Tax deductions for tutors
The books are the obvious one. Here is what else a tutor can deduct, what most miss, and what each puts back at your tax rate.
Free. No bank login. Snap a receipt and see what it puts back.
What tutors miss
Not the laptop or the phone; everyone finds those. These are particular to the work, and each is shown the way Reimburse would log it.
Driving between students
From a home office that is your principal place of business, trips to students and back are business miles. Without one, the first and last trips of the day can be commuting.
Platform fees
What Wyzant or a similar platform keeps from each lesson is commissions and fees.
Test-prep books and materials
What you teach from, bought for students, is supplies.
Background checks
A check a family, school or platform requires before you work with children is a business expense.
Parking at sessions
Parking and tolls on a business trip count on top of the mileage rate.
Where a tutor’s receipts go
Each goes on its own line of Schedule C. Start from this page and Reimburse reads your receipts as a tutor’s, so the line is right the first time.
| On the receipt | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Wyzant or a similar platform’s fee | Commissions and fees, line 10. |
| Miles between students | Car and truck expenses, line 9, at the standard mileage rate. |
| Parking and tolls on the way to a session | Car and truck expenses, line 9, on top of the mileage rate. |
| Test-prep books and practice tests | Supplies, line 22. |
| A background check | Other expenses, line 27a. |
| Flyers and a tutoring website | Advertising, line 8. |
What to write on it
- Which student, and where? Mileage needs the date, the place, the purpose and the miles.
- From home, or from another session? Whether a drive counts can depend on where it started.
- For a student, or for your own studies? What you teach from is supplies; a course you take for a degree may not be deductible at all.
A tutor’s year
An example, not an average: an SAT and math tutor clearing $40,000, driving to students’ homes from a home office and finding some students through Wyzant. Every amount is priced at your rate; change it below and the year moves.
| What | Schedule C | Deductible | Back |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wyzant’s share of lessons | Line 10 | $3,000 | $1,082 back |
| 4,000 miles between students | Line 9 | $2,970 | $1,071 back |
| An iPad and a stylus for online sessions | Line 22 | $1,100 | $397 back |
| Test-prep books and practice tests | Line 22 | $600 | $216 back |
| The home office, 100 sq ft | Line 30 | $500 | $180 back |
| Phone, 50% business | Line 25 | $420 | $151 back |
| Flyers and a website | Line 8 | $400 | $144 back |
| Video and whiteboard software | Line 27a | $300 | $108 back |
| Printing worksheets | Line 22 | $250 | $90 back |
| Liability insurance | Line 15 | $250 | $90 back |
| Parking at libraries and students’ homes | Line 9 | $150 | $54 back |
| A background check | Line 27a | $60 | $22 back |
| The year | $10,000 | $3,606 back |
Sounds deductible, isn’t
Or has a catch.
- Your own degree
- Education that qualifies you for a new line of work, or meets the minimum requirements of one, isn’t deductible.
- Driving to a school you tutor at all year
- A regular place you work over more than a year isn’t temporary. Without a home office as your principal place of business, getting there is a commute.
- End-of-year gifts
- Business gifts count only up to $25 per person per year.
Questions tutors ask
What can a tutor write off?
Driving between students, platform fees, books and materials, background checks, a qualifying home office, tutoring software and the business share of your phone. Your own degree isn’t deductible.
Can tutors deduct mileage to students’ homes?
Usually. From a home office that is your principal place of business, every trip to a student and back is business mileage; without one, the rules on temporary work locations decide. Log the date, place, purpose and miles.
Are Wyzant fees tax deductible?
Yes. The share the platform keeps is a business expense, under commissions and fees. Keep the platform’s statements, so your income and fees match what it reports.
Priced at your rate
What a deduction puts back depends on your state, your profit and how you file. Change any of it and every figure on this page reprices.
I run in . I file , and this year the business should clear about , with from a job or anything else.
of every dollar you spend on the business comes back to you.
14.1¢ is self-employment tax, 8.9¢ federal income tax and 1.9¢ California.
Your answers come with you. Next is your first receipt.
What every freelancer can deduct
- Is your car tax deductible?Partly
- Are parking and tolls tax deductible?Yes
- Is a home office tax deductible?Yes
- Are software subscriptions tax deductible?Yes
- Are bank and payment processing fees tax deductible?Yes
- Is advertising tax deductible?Yes
- Is your phone bill tax deductible?Partly
- Are office supplies tax deductible?Yes
Checked on September 25, 2026 against Standard mileage rates, Publication 463, Travel, Gift and Car Expenses and Instructions for Schedule C. An estimate for your records, not tax advice.
Snap the next receipt.
Set up for tutors and Reimburse reads each receipt as a tutor’s, files it on its Schedule C line and shows what it puts back.