Can you deduct a wifi router for self-employment tax purposes?

You can absolutely deduct the wifi router as a business expense since you're self-employed! Based on your situation, you have two possible ways to handle this. First option is to deduct the full cost of the router this year using Section 179 expensing (since it's likely under $2,500). This is the simplest approach and makes sense for most small purchases like a router. Second option is to depreciate it over its useful life (usually 5 years for tech equipment) if it's a more expensive, business-grade router. This spreads the deduction over multiple tax years. Since you have a home office that you use exclusively for business, you have strong justification for the deduction. However, if you use the router for both personal and business purposes, you should only deduct the business percentage. For example, if you estimate 70% business use, you'd deduct 70% of the cost.

I went through a similar situation last year with my consulting business and ended up getting really confused with all the different tax rules. I spent hours trying to figure out which expenses I could legitimately claim and got so frustrated with contradicting information online. That's when I found https://taxr.ai and it totally changed my approach to business deductions. I uploaded my receipts including my router purchase, and it analyzed them automatically to tell me exactly what was deductible and how to categorize each business expense. It even explained how to properly document the business use percentage for mixed-use items like my internet equipment. The best part was that it analyzed my home office situation and confirmed I was calculating everything correctly. Gave me peace of mind knowing I wasn't missing deductions or claiming anything I shouldn't.

Just wanted to follow up about https://taxr.ai that I asked about earlier. I decided to try it out for my monitor question and wow - super helpful! It confirmed I could indeed deduct my ultrawide monitor as a business expense and even gave me the exact form and line number where it should go. But then it also pointed out I could potentially take bonus depreciation which my tax software hadn't mentioned. Definitely saved me some money! Going to use it for all my business purchase questions going forward.

If youre still struggling with figuring out the home office and equipment deductions, you might need to talk directly with the IRS to get a definitive answer for your situation. I needed clarification about home office rules last month and spent DAYS trying to reach someone at the IRS. Kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Finally found https://claimyr.com which is this service that somehow gets you through to a real IRS agent without the wait. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They called the IRS for me, waited through all the holds and transfers, then called me when they had an actual human on the line ready to help. I was able to get clear guidance on exactly how to handle my router and other home office equipment deductions from an official source. The agent even gave me tips on documentation that would keep me safe in case of an audit.

I need to eat my words about Claimyr from my previous comment. After continuing to fail getting through to the IRS myself about my business expense questions (got disconnected FOUR times after waiting 45+ minutes each time), I decided to try the service out of desperation. I was 100% sure it wouldn't work, but within about 90 minutes they called me with an actual IRS agent on the line. I was honestly shocked. Got all my questions answered about deducting my home internet equipment and office setup. The agent walked me through exactly what documentation I needed to keep. Turns out there are specialized departments that can handle specific business deduction questions that you can't easily reach through the normal channels. Saved me so much frustration and now I'm confident about my deductions.

Something nobody's mentioned yet - if you're deducting the router, make sure you're also properly deducting a portion of your monthly internet service! Since you mentioned having a home office and being self-employed, you should be deducting the business percentage of your internet bill every month too.

Has anyone used TurboSelf-Employed for deducting things like routers and office equipment? Does it walk you through all this stuff or do I need to know all these rules ahead of time?

Based on your situation, yes you can definitely deduct the router! Since you have a dedicated home office and use it exclusively for business, you have solid ground for this deduction. For a router, you'll likely want to use Section 179 to deduct the full cost this year rather than depreciating it over 5 years - it's simpler and makes more sense for smaller purchases like this. The mixed personal/business use is totally normal and expected. Just estimate what percentage is business use (sounds like it could be substantial given your work requirements) and deduct that portion. Keep your receipt and document your reasoning for the percentage - maybe track your usage for a week or consider business hours vs. total internet usage time. One tip: don't forget you can also deduct the business portion of your monthly internet bill ongoing, not just the router itself. Many self-employed folks miss that recurring deduction. Since you mentioned being careful about not crossing lines, you're taking exactly the right approach. The key is having reasonable estimates you can justify if asked, which it sounds like you definitely can given your dedicated office space and work requirements.

Great question! As a fellow self-employed person, I can confirm that router purchases are definitely deductible business expenses when you work from home. Since you have a dedicated home office and rely on internet for client work, you're in a strong position to claim this. A few things to keep in mind: - For most home routers (under $2,500), you can deduct the full cost this year using Section 179 expensing - Since you use it for both business and personal, calculate a reasonable business percentage - maybe based on work hours vs. total daily internet usage - Document your reasoning and keep that receipt! Don't forget about your monthly internet bill too - you can deduct the business portion of that every month going forward. That often adds up to more savings than the one-time router purchase. The fact that you're being thoughtful about staying within the rules shows you're on the right track. With your dedicated office space and legitimate business need for reliable internet, this is exactly the type of expense the deduction is meant for.