Taxes are officially due this Tuesday, April 17th. However, as a busy real estate agent, you may not have completed yours yet. Lucky for you we’ve created this quick cheat sheet so you can get the most out of your 2017 return. Be sure you include these 16 real estate agent tax deductions.
16 Real Estate Agent Tax Deductions
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Fees, Licenses, & Memberships
Every agent should include their annual state license fees, multiple listing service board memberships and professional memberships. -
Desk Fees or Commission Splits
All agents must work under a real estate broker’s license. A desk fee is a payment agreement between the agent and his or her broker. A commission split is a portion of the agent’s commission that goes his or her broker. Both desk fees and commission splits are tax deductible. -
Vehicle Mileage
For the International Revenue Service’s optional standard mileage rates for 2018 is 54.5 cents for every mile of business travel driven. That’s up one cent from 2017! One way to claim mileage as a tax deduction is through a log of your miles. If you forgot to record your miles in 2017 or if your current log is inaccurate, check out this blog article on the best mileage apps for real estate professionals. -
Purchased or Leased New Vehicles
Because appearance matters so much in the real estate industry, agents can deduct the depreciation of a newly purchased car. -
Home Office Deductions
Home office deductions can be divided into two categories, prorated and dedicated expenses.
Prorated Expenses - these expenses include hard goods like pens, paper, printers, etc.
Dedicated Expenses – physical expenses such as converting your spare room into an office, office furniture, and even renovations made to the work space. -
Insurance
If you operate your own brokerage, you can deduct business insurance expenses. -
Closing & Pop-By Gifts
In general you are not allowed to deduct more than $25 per person, per year. For a complete guide on pop-by gift ideas, download Zurple’s Pop-By Gift Planner. -
Marketing & Advertising
All of your online and offline efforts are tax deductible. This includes pay-per-click advertising, Facebook ads, print mailers, brochures, postcards, and even open house signage. -
Office Supplies
Simple items such as pen, paper, printers, computers, are all tax deductible when spent towards your business. -
Retirement
Your retirement contributions are fully tax deductible. However, your deduction is limited by your contribution limits. -
Meals
This is a big one. If you’re a listing agent, you likely find yourself purchasing coffee or dinner for potential clients. If you’re a buyer’s agent, you likely find yourself purchasing lunch in between showings. The only caveat is you’ll need to keep track of the amount, date, time and place of the meal, the business purpose, names of guests, and reason behind the business relationship. -
Any Outsourced Services
If you hire any, graphic designers, web designers, home stagers, their services are fully tax deductible. -
Education
Even if you already have your license or college degree, any continuing education is tax deductible. Although most real estate classes are inexpensive, every little bit helps!
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Cell Phones & Tablets
If you use your mobile phone or tablet for business purposes it is fully tax deductible. However, it does become tricky when your mobile phone or tablet is used for both work and personal reasons.
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Real Estate Conferences
Did you know conferences such as Inman Connect and NAR Conference are also deductible! -
Software Fee
Any software you use to manage or grow your real estate business, including CRM and lead generation software is fully tax deductible.
Any fees Zurple agents pay on our lead generation services and software fees, are tax deductable! To see if Zurple is a good fit for your real estate business needs in 2018, schedule a demo with one of our Account Executives below.
