Tax deductions for videographers and filmmakers
The camera is the start. Here is what else a videographer can deduct, from rentals and music licenses to the drives the footage lives on, and what each puts back at your tax rate.
Free. No bank login. Snap a receipt and see what it puts back.
What videographers and filmmakers 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.
Gear rentals
A lens, a light or a gimbal rented for one shoot is rent on equipment, deductible in the year you pay it.
Crew and editors
Second shooters, audio and editors are contract labor, in full. A 1099-NEC once you pay someone $2,000 in a year.
Music and stock licenses
Licensed tracks and stock footage for client work, and the library you license them from, are costs of the business.
Drives and archive storage
Raw footage has to live somewhere. Drives are supplies, and a cloud archive is a monthly business bill.
A drone certificate
The FAA remote pilot test, when it adds aerial shots to the video work you already sell. The drone itself is equipment.
Festival submission fees
Entering your work where clients and buyers will see it is promoting the business.
Where a videographer’s receipts go
Each goes on its own line of Schedule C. Start from this page and Reimburse reads your receipts as a videographer’s, so the line is right the first time.
| On the receipt | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| A camera, lens or light under $2,500 | Supplies, line 22, all in the year you buy it, if you elect the de minimis safe harbor. |
| A camera or drone over $2,500 | Depreciation, line 13, usually all this year with Section 179 or bonus depreciation. |
| A lens or light rented for a shoot | Rent on equipment, line 20a. |
| A song or stock footage license | Other expenses, line 27a. |
| Crew paid for a shoot | Contract labor, line 11. |
| A permit to film on location | Taxes and licenses, line 23. |
What to write on it
- Which job was it for? A rental or a license tied to a client project shows its purpose on its own.
- Who ran audio? You’ll need their W-9, and a 1099-NEC once they pass $2,000 for the year.
- Bought or rented? Rentals are rent on equipment. Gear you buy is supplies or depreciation.
- Out of town overnight? Then the hotel is travel and meals are half deductible, not a day out.
A videographer’s year
An example, not an average: a wedding and brand videographer clearing $85,000, shooting with a small crew and renting what each job needs. Every amount is priced at your rate; change it below and the year moves.
| What | Schedule C | Deductible | Back |
|---|---|---|---|
| A second shooter and an audio op | Line 11 | $4,800 | $1,731 back |
| A camera body, under $2,500 | Line 22 | $2,299 | $829 back |
| 3,100 miles to shoots | Line 9 | $2,302 | $830 back |
| Lens and light rentals | Line 20a | $1,450 | $523 back |
| Editing, color and cloud archive software | Line 27a | $1,100 | $397 back |
| Music and stock footage licenses | Line 27a | $960 | $346 back |
| The edit suite, 150 sq ft | Line 30 | $750 | $270 back |
| Drives for raw footage | Line 22 | $720 | $260 back |
| Phone, 70% business | Line 25 | $714 | $257 back |
| Gear and liability insurance | Line 15 | $620 | $224 back |
| Festival entries and a reel | Line 8 | $450 | $162 back |
| Client meals, half of $400 | Line 24b | $200 | $72 back |
| The FAA drone pilot test | Line 27a | $175 | $63 back |
| The year | $16,540 | $5,964 back |
Sounds deductible, isn’t
Or has a catch.
- Streaming services for research
- Personal, unless reviewing what’s on them is the work itself.
- Selling gear you wrote off
- If you deducted it in full, what you sell it for is income, up to what you deducted.
- A drone you also fly for fun
- Only its business share counts, and writing it all off at once under Section 179 needs more than half business use.
- A vacation you filmed
- Footage from a holiday doesn’t make it business travel. The trip has to be mainly for the work.
Questions videographers and filmmakers ask
Can a videographer write off a camera?
Yes, by the share you use it for the business. Under $2,500 an item it can be expensed at once with the de minimis safe harbor; above that, Section 179 or bonus depreciation usually lets you take it all in the year you buy it.
Are music licenses tax deductible for videographers?
Yes. Songs and stock footage licensed for client work, and subscriptions to the music libraries you use for the business, are business expenses.
Is renting camera gear deductible?
Yes, as rent on equipment on line 20a, in the year you pay it. Keep the rental agreement with the job it was for.
Can I deduct a drone for video work?
Yes, by its business share, like any camera. The FAA test for flying commercially is deductible when aerial shots are part of the video business you already run.
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 5.6¢ California.
Your answers come with you. Next is your first receipt.
What every freelancer can deduct
- Are equipment and furniture tax deductible?Yes
- Are software subscriptions tax deductible?Yes
- Can you deduct what you pay contractors?Yes
- Is your car tax deductible?Partly
- Are business travel expenses tax deductible?Yes
- Is a home office tax deductible?Yes
- Is your phone bill tax deductible?Partly
- Is business insurance tax deductible?Yes
Checked on September 25, 2026 against Publication 946, How to Depreciate Property, Publication 463, Travel, Gift and Car Expenses, Instructions for Schedule C and Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC. An estimate for your records, not tax advice.
Snap the next receipt.
Set up for videographers and filmmakers and Reimburse reads each receipt as a videographer’s, files it on its Schedule C line and shows what it puts back.