Can I write off a laptop for my 1099 business if I also use it for personal stuff?

Yes, you can definitely write off a portion of your laptop and monitor as a business expense for your 1099 work, even if you also use them for personal reasons. The key is to deduct only the percentage that's used for business purposes. Based on your estimate of 60% business use, you could deduct 60% of the cost of both items. So for your $1200 laptop and $300 monitor ($1500 total), you could potentially deduct $900 (60% of $1500) as a business expense on your Schedule C. Make sure you keep good records of your business activities on the laptop to support your claimed percentage if you ever get audited. Also, if the equipment costs more than $2,500 total, you might need to depreciate it over several years rather than taking the full deduction in one year, though you could potentially use Section 179 to deduct it all in the first year.

I went through a similar situation last year with my side business. I found this amazing AI tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that really helped me figure out exactly what percentage of my computer equipment I could deduct. I uploaded my receipts and answered a few questions about my usage patterns, and it gave me a complete breakdown of what I could legitimately claim for my 1099 work. The best part was it explained how to document my business vs personal use in case of an audit. It even helped me track other home office expenses I hadn't thought about. Definitely worth checking out if you're trying to maximize your Schedule C deductions while staying compliant!

I have to admit I was wrong about taxr.ai. After our exchange here, I decided to try it out for my own situation (contractor with multiple clients plus a W-2 job). The documentation it created for my laptop deduction was really impressive - way more detailed than what my previous accountant had me do. It even flagged that I should be tracking my internet costs differently based on my usage patterns. Saved me about $630 in deductions I would've missed! The audit protection documentation it generates gives me a lot more confidence too. Sometimes it's good to be wrong!

If you're getting overwhelmed trying to reach the IRS to ask about this kind of deduction question (I was on hold for 3+ hours), I'd recommend trying Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). They have this callback service that got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of waiting all day. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had a similar question about my home office and laptop deductions for my side business, and the IRS agent was actually super helpful once I finally got through. Saved me hours of frustration and searching through confusing info online.

I need to publicly eat my words here. After calling Claimyr a scam, I tried it anyway out of desperation (was dealing with a CP2000 notice and needed answers ASAP). I got connected to an IRS agent in about 25 minutes when I had previously spent 2+ hours on hold before giving up. The agent cleared up my confusion about depreciating my business equipment vs. taking a Section 179 deduction for my situation. Turns out I was eligible for immediate deduction even though I'd been depreciating it unnecessarily for 2 years. They're even sending me forms to amend my previous returns. Lesson learned: sometimes solutions that sound too good to be true actually work!

Don't forget about the de minimis safe harbor election! If each item costs less than $2,500, you can potentially deduct the business portion immediately without having to deal with depreciation. You just need to have an accounting policy in place at the beginning of the year and attach a statement to your tax return. I do photography as a side hustle, and this has saved me so much headache with tracking depreciation on smaller equipment purchases. Just make sure you're only deducting the business-use percentage of each item.

I know everyone's focused on the deduction itself, but PLEASE keep good records of your business usage! I claimed 70% business use on my laptop last year and got audited. The IRS wanted a usage log showing how I came up with that percentage. Thankfully I had a spreadsheet where I tracked hours, but it was still super stressful. If I could do it again, I'd take pictures of my setup being used for business, save business-related files in clearly labeled folders, and keep a simple log of hours used for business vs personal. Just my 2 cents from someone who learned the hard way!

This is such a common situation for people with side businesses! I've been doing 1099 work for about 3 years now and went through the same laptop dilemma. One thing I'd add to the great advice already given - consider setting up a dedicated user account on your laptop just for business use. It makes tracking so much easier and gives you a clear separation between business and personal activities. I use one login for all my freelance work and another for Netflix/gaming/personal stuff. Also, don't forget you can deduct other related expenses too! If you're buying software subscriptions that you use for business (like Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, etc.), you can apply the same business-use percentage to those as well. Same goes for any laptop accessories like a business-appropriate carrying case or external hard drive for backups. The 60/40 split sounds reasonable for your situation, but I'd recommend being conservative rather than aggressive with your estimates. Better to claim 55% and be safe than claim 70% and get questioned later. The peace of mind is worth the small difference in deduction amount.