Can I Expense Travel Costs for My Travel YouTube Channel on Taxes?

Yes, you can expense business-related travel costs for your YouTube channel, but there are important guidelines to follow so you don't raise red flags with the IRS. The key is that these expenses must be "ordinary and necessary" for your business. For a travel YouTube channel, costs like flights, accommodations, and meals directly connected to content creation would generally qualify. However, you need to maintain clear documentation showing the business purpose of each expense and keep personal activities separate. Since you mentioned you have other business income, be aware that the IRS looks closely at businesses with losses year after year. If your YouTube channel consistently shows losses while you claim travel deductions, it could potentially be classified as a hobby rather than a business, which would limit your deductions.

I went through this exact same situation with my travel blog last year. After countless hours trying to figure out the tax implications, I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it was a game-changer. I uploaded all my receipts and business documents, and their AI system helped me understand which expenses were deductible and which weren't for my content creation business. The best part was how it helped me understand the difference between business trips and mixed-purpose travel. They analyzed my situation and provided clear guidance on how to properly document everything to satisfy IRS requirements. Saved me from making some pretty costly mistakes!

Just wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after our conversation. I decided to give it a try with my crafting business tax situation and was honestly impressed. It helped me properly categorize all my convention expenses - from booth fees (100% business) to those dinners where I was networking with other vendors (partially deductible). The system even flagged some deductions I was taking incorrectly that could have caused problems. What surprised me was how it handled my mixed-purpose travel - it actually walked me through allocating expenses on days with both business and personal activities. Definitely worth it for anyone with a side business that involves travel or content creation!

For what it's worth, I've been dealing with similar IRS questions about my food review TikTok account for months. After getting nowhere with endless hold times, I used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to finally get a human at the IRS on the phone. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I spent WEEKS trying to get clear guidance on my specific situation (restaurant meals for reviews), but could never get through the IRS phone tree. Claimyr got me connected to a real person in less than 20 minutes, and I got official clarification that yes, my meals were legitimate business expenses when I was actively reviewing them for content. Saved me a ton of anxiety about potential audit issues.

I need to eat my words about being skeptical of Claimyr. After our discussion, I decided to try it for a tax issue I've been struggling with for my photography business. I couldn't believe it actually worked exactly as described. After trying for THREE MONTHS to reach someone at the IRS about my equipment depreciation questions, I got connected to an agent in about 30 minutes. Resolved my issue in a single conversation. The agent confirmed that my camera gear purchased primarily for YouTube content creation is indeed depreciable business equipment, even though I occasionally use it for personal photos too (just need to track usage percentages). Never thought I'd say this, but I'm genuinely impressed. Saved me from potentially making a very costly tax mistake on my equipment deductions.

One thing nobody's mentioned yet: if your channel focuses on travel, make sure you understand international tax implications too. I learned this the hard way with my own travel channel. Some countries have specific rules about creating commercial content on tourist visas. And if you start making money in different countries (like through sponsored hotel stays), you might have foreign income reporting requirements. My channel's only medium-sized (125K subs) but I still had to file FBAR forms because I was getting paid into foreign accounts temporarily.

Just a heads up from someone who's been doing cooking tutorials for 3 years - the IRS scrutinizes home-based content creation pretty carefully. For your cooking channel idea, keep DETAILED records of ingredients purchased specifically for videos vs. regular groceries. Take pictures of the receipt, note which items were for content, and keep a content calendar showing when those ingredients were used. Same applies to restaurant reviews - keep records showing you were there primarily for content creation (notes taken, multiple dishes ordered beyond what would be normal, etc).

Dont forget about Section 179 deduction for equipment! If ur buying cameras, drones, laptops, etc for the channel, you can potentially deduct up to $1,080,000 in 2025 (the limits keep going up each year). Saved me massive tax $ on my adventure channel when I had to get all new gear.

Great question! As someone who's been navigating similar waters with my freelance writing business, I can confirm that legitimate business expenses for content creation are generally deductible, but the devil is in the details. For your travel YouTube channel, you'll want to establish clear business intent from day one. Create a formal business plan, register your business name, get an EIN, and open a dedicated business bank account. This shows the IRS you're serious about profit, not just taking tax-deductible vacations. One crucial point others haven't mentioned: keep a detailed itinerary showing the business purpose of each day. If you're in Paris for 5 days but only film content for 3, you can generally only deduct 3/5 of shared expenses like hotels. Document everything - filming schedules, content calendars, even weather delays that affected shooting. For your cooking channel idea, yes - ingredients used specifically for recipe videos are deductible business expenses. Just keep them completely separate from your regular grocery shopping. I'd suggest doing dedicated "business grocery runs" with receipts clearly marked for content creation. The key is treating this as a real business from day one, not something you'll "figure out later" if it becomes profitable. Good record-keeping and clear business intent will save you headaches down the road!

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is the importance of establishing your business structure early on, especially if you're planning to scale. Since you already have a software consulting business, you'll want to consider whether to run the YouTube channel as a separate business entity or combine them. If you keep them separate, you'll need separate accounting, but it might be cleaner for tax purposes - especially if one business is profitable and the other shows losses initially. If you combine them, you can potentially offset YouTube losses against consulting income more easily, but you need to be extra careful about documenting which expenses belong to which activity. Also, consider getting business insurance that covers content creation activities. Some standard business policies don't cover equipment used for video production or liability issues that could arise from travel content. I learned this the hard way when my camera gear was stolen during a business trip - thankfully it was covered, but only because I'd specifically added content creation coverage. For tracking expenses on the road, I use a combination of QuickBooks Self-Employed (connects to bank accounts and auto-categorizes) and a simple Google Sheet where I log daily activities and business purposes. The key is consistency - pick a system and stick with it from day one!