Expenses You Should Be Meticulously Tracking as a REALTOR®

Real Estate Agent Expenses You Should Be Meticulously Tracking

If you aren’t tracking your business expenses or waiting to the last minute to recreate a year’s worth of traveled miles, phone bills, office supplies purchased, or any other deductible expenses, you may be missing out on significant savings.

Expense Tracking for Realtors

Whether you’re self-employed or working for a brokerage from your home office, there are a number of expenses you should be tracking.

What Are the Best Expense Tracking Apps for Realtors

With a smartphone and the wide variety of available expense tracking apps such as BizXpenseTracker, Expensify, Shoeboxed, etc., capturing these expenses has never been easier.

Don’t wait until the eleventh hour. Start tracking these expenses now:

Realtor Cost of Doing Business Expenses

Maintaining a home office, computer equipment, and cell phone expenses are some of the expenses you may be able to deduct.

  • Home office – As a sole proprietor, your home office must be your principal place of work and used exclusively for business. If you are an employee using a home office, you may qualify for a deduction if the space is used for the convenience of your employer. To calculate the size of your home office deduction, use the total square footage of your home / divided square footage used as an office = the percentage of direct and indirect expenses (rent, utilities, insurance, repairs, etc.) that can be deducted.
  • Business insurance – Health insurance and business auto may be deductible.
  • Professional services – Includes outside consulting fees, accountant, tax prep, etc.
  • Office Supplies – Paper, pens, printer ink, folders, and binders purchased throughout the year. Does not include items purchased and used as promotional items.
  • Computer, tablet, business furniture, and other equipment – Depreciation for capital equipment has dropped from 50 percent to 40 for 2018. This deduction will no longer be available beginning in 2019.
  • Software – You may deduct the full cost of small business software.
  • Cell phone/cell plan – Deduct for exclusive business phone and the cost of calls.
  • Vehicle and mileage – You may choose between deducting your actual vehicle expenses — gasoline, maintenance, parking, tolls — or using the IRS standard mileage rate of 62.5 cents per mile for the 2022 tax year.
  • Meals – Take 50% of business-related meals.
  • Photocopying and printing
  • Bank charges – Fees charged to your business account may be deductible
  • Courier services – Shipping expenses directly related to your business

Sales & Marketing Expenses Tracking

So much of your day is focused on finding new business.

Many of the costs associated with developing new businesses are often deductible.

These include:

Professional Development

You may deduct the cost of business-related educational events, including seminars, real estate conferences, and workshops.

Important Caveat

We are not tax professionals, so for more details, consult with your accountant, or tax professional, or visit IRS.gov, to see if you qualify and confirm that all the expenses you’re deducting are applicable before filing your return.

You work hard throughout the year and spend to invest in the success of your business.

You deserve to take the legitimate deductions available to you. Track the above expenses. It won’t hurt, even if you find that some may no longer be deductible.

When tax time comes, the last thing you want to do is leave money on the table.

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