Professional Library For Video Businesses

Should you deduct the books you use in your business? Yes, it’s called a professional library and there are just a few stipulations. One of the first questions is whether this is a business or a hobby.

According to the IRS “The IRS presumes that an activity is carried on for profit if it makes a profit during at least three of the last five tax years, including the current year — at least two of the last seven years for activities that consist primarily of breeding, showing, training or racing horses.”

So if you passed that test – making a profit 3 of the last 5 years, the next question is how to deduct those books. Again you have to be in business and the books must be for use in that business. According to the IRS “You maintain a library for use in your profession. You can depreciate it. However, if you buy technical books, journals, or information services for use in your business that have a useful life of one year or less, you cannot depreciate them. Instead, you deduct their cost as a business expense.”

source Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Publication 946, Cat. No. 13081F

So if they are magazines about the video business, you should expense them (deduct their cost in the year you bought them). But if they have longer value say a business guide, you can depreciate them that is to say deduct their value over several years. There are some rules over how to depreciate these things and I will let the IRS guide you. See How To Depreciate Property.”

For more information on this topic see Video Business Tax Deductions.