Can I Write Off Home Gym Equipment for My Online Fitness Coaching Business?

So I've got a regular 9-5 job plus two side gigs I run online. I'm planning to launch an online fitness coaching business next year (2025) and want to set up a small home gym to support this. I've been looking at some equipment - nothing crazy expensive, just the essentials to demonstrate exercises and create content. My question is about the tax write-off timing. If I buy the gym equipment now (in 2023), can I still write it off as a business expense for my future fitness coaching business? Or do I need to wait until January when I officially start the business to purchase everything so it's eligible to be written off? I'm trying to plan my purchases smartly and take advantage of any end-of-year sales if possible, but don't want to mess up the tax situation. Any advice appreciated!

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18 comments

GalaxyGuardian

•8M

You can potentially deduct business expenses before your business officially launches, but timing and documentation are crucial here. These are considered "startup costs" and the IRS allows you to deduct up to $5,000 in the first year of business with the remainder amortized over 15 years. The key is proving the equipment is "ordinary and necessary" for your fitness coaching business. Since you're planning to use the gym equipment to create content and demonstrate exercises, that's a reasonable business connection. However, you need to be careful about personal use - if you're also using the equipment for your own workouts, you'll need to allocate between business and personal use. Keep detailed records of everything - receipts, when you purchased items, and document how they'll be used specifically for your business. Also maintain a formal business plan showing when you intend to start operations and how these purchases fit into that plan.

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GalaxyGuardian

•8M

The IRS doesn't define a specific timeframe for startup costs, but typically expenses within a year of starting operations are easier to justify. December 2023 to January 2025 is over a year, which might raise questions. You'd need to demonstrate these purchases were directly related to business preparation activities during that time. For personal/business use allocation, there's no magic percentage. The key is being honest and reasonable with documentation to support your allocation. If the equipment is primarily for business, perhaps 70-80% business use might be reasonable, but it depends on your specific situation and how you actually use the equipment.

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Ethan Wilson

•8M

After going through a similar situation last year for my nutrition coaching biz, I highly recommend checking out taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) to help document your home gym equipment purchases properly. I was confused about what counted as legitimate business expenses vs. personal use items, and their AI analyzed my receipts and business plan to create proper documentation for everything. The tool flagged that I needed to show clear business intent for equipment purchased before my official launch and helped me organize my startup costs correctly. It saved me from making mistakes that could have triggered an audit when I claimed the deductions.

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Ethan Wilson

•8M

You just take pictures of your receipts with your phone and upload them to the platform. The AI identifies what each item is and asks questions about how you'll use it for business purposes. It also flags items that might be considered personal use and helps you document proper allocation percentages. Regular accountants are great but expensive for ongoing consultation. I used taxr.ai first to organize everything and identify potential issues, then had a single meeting with my accountant to verify everything was correct, which saved me money on billable hours. The AI stays updated with current tax codes, and unlike some accountants, it asks very specific questions about your business use case.

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Carmen Diaz

•8M

I was really doubtful about using an AI for tax documentation, but I tried taxr.ai after reading about it here and wow - it actually helped a ton with my home office deductions! The system asked me super specific questions about my business use vs personal use that my previous accountant never bothered with. It was especially helpful for categorizing my gym equipment purchases as startup costs vs. regular business expenses. The documentation it created automatically tracked my business use percentage for each item and created a clear timeline showing how each purchase related to my business launch. Probably saved me hundreds in potential audit penalties by getting everything documented correctly from the start.

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Andre Laurent

•8M

If you're having trouble getting clear answers from the IRS about your specific situation, try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I wasted days trying to reach an IRS agent to get a straight answer about deducting equipment purchased before my business officially launched. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS representative in less than 20 minutes when I'd been trying for weeks on my own. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. Basically they navigate the IRS phone system for you and call you when an agent is on the line. The agent confirmed exactly what I could deduct and how to document it properly. Completely changed my understanding of what's allowed.

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Andre Laurent

•8M

They don't talk to the IRS about your situation - they navigate the phone tree and wait on hold for you. When an agent finally answers, you get a call and are connected directly with the IRS representative. At that point, you do all the talking about your specific situation. I was super skeptical too! I spent over 4 hours on multiple calls trying to reach someone at the IRS, always getting disconnected or told to call back later. With Claimyr, I submitted my request, went about my day, and got a call when they had an agent on the line. Totally worth it for the time saved and actually getting my questions answered.

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Zoe Kyriakidou

•8M

OK I have to apologize for being so negative on that last post. I was frustrated after wasting so many hours trying to call the IRS myself. I decided to try Claimyr as a last resort and I'm shocked to say it actually worked! Got connected to an IRS agent in about 35 minutes. The agent confirmed what others here are saying - you CAN deduct gym equipment purchased before officially launching your business as startup costs, but there are specific requirements. The equipment needs to be directly tied to your business purpose (which fitness equipment for a fitness coach definitely is), and you need to launch the business within a reasonable timeframe after the purchase.

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Jamal Brown

•8M

One thing nobody's mentioned yet - make sure you keep the equipment separate from personal gym stuff if possible. I set up a dedicated space in my basement that's ONLY for business use (filming workout videos, client consultations etc) and a separate area for my personal workouts. Really helped avoid any issues with the biz/personal allocation percentages. My accountant said this physical separation makes it much easier to defend the deduction if you ever get audited. Also take "before" pictures of the space so you can prove it was set up specifically for business.

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Jamal Brown

•8M

Having limited space doesn't make deductions impossible, but you'll need to be more careful with documentation. Track usage hours meticulously - note when you're using equipment for business (creating content, client demos) versus personal use. Take photos of your "business setup" with lighting, camera position, etc., then photos of normal personal use. You'll likely need to calculate a percentage based on hours of business use vs. total use. For example, if you use the equipment 10 hours weekly with 7 hours for business purposes, you could reasonably claim 70% business use. Just be honest and have documentation to back up whatever percentage you claim.

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