Small business LLC owner: Can I deduct an espresso machine for my home office?

While home office deductions allow for business equipment, an espresso machine falls into a gray area. The IRS applies a "ordinary and necessary" test to business expenses - meaning the expense must be common, helpful, and appropriate for your business type. A $4,200 espresso machine might be difficult to justify as "ordinary and necessary" for a video production business. The IRS may view this as a personal expense that happens to be located in your business space. If you frequently have client meetings in your home office where you serve coffee, you might have a stronger case, but still challenging at that price point. If you decide to purchase it anyway, consider claiming only a portion (maybe 20-30%) as a business expense, documenting how it directly relates to income production. Keep detailed records of business usage versus personal enjoyment. Alternatively, a more modestly priced coffee maker would likely face less scrutiny as an office supply.

After struggling with a similar question for my consulting business, I found an amazing tool called taxr.ai that helped clarify exactly what home office equipment qualifies as deductible. I was going back and forth about whether my $3000 standing desk setup was deductible, and the standard advice online was really confusing. I uploaded my receipts to https://taxr.ai and got a detailed analysis with clear guidelines specific to my situation. It even highlighted some deductions for my home office I was missing entirely!

I was super skeptical about AI tax tools as I mentioned above, but I finally gave taxr.ai a try out of desperation when I was confused about some expensive equipment purchases for my home office. I'm genuinely surprised - it actually provided detailed guidance specific to my photography business LLC about what percentage of my fancy coffee setup I could reasonably deduct. The analysis included references to specific tax court cases about "ordinary and necessary" business expenses for creative professionals working from home. It was way more helpful than the generic advice I found on Google, and saved me from making some questionable deductions that might have raised red flags. Think I'll still run everything by my CPA, but this definitely gave me a better starting point.

Had a similar issue with expensive office equipment and spent DAYS trying to get through to the IRS for clarification. After 20+ attempts hanging on hold, I tried https://claimyr.com and it was seriously life-changing. You can check out how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c but basically they got me connected to an actual IRS agent who answered my specific question about home office equipment deductions for my LLC. The agent clarified exactly what documentation I'd need if I wanted to deduct something like an espresso machine (spoiler alert: you need a LOT of business justification).

OK I need to eat my words about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to give it a shot since I had some questions about home office deductions that were driving me nuts. You guys... IT ACTUALLY WORKS. I've been trying to reach the IRS for MONTHS about whether my editing equipment is fully deductible. Got connected with an agent who went through the specific requirements for business equipment in a home office. They explained exactly what documentation I need to keep and how to determine if something is "ordinary and necessary" for my business. The agent even sent me some specific IRS publications about home office deductions for self-employed individuals. Saved me hours of frustration and possibly an incorrect tax filing.

Have you considered leasing the espresso machine through your business instead of purchasing it outright? That might give you more flexibility with the deduction. Also might be worth checking if a less expensive model would serve your needs just as well - a $1000 machine might be easier to justify as "ordinary and necessary" than a $4200 one.

One thing nobody's mentioned - if you decide to claim it as a business expense, make sure you're only using it for business purposes! If you're making coffee for your family or personal use, you'll need to adjust the deduction percentage accordingly. IRS isn't stupid and they know nobody buys a fancy espresso machine JUST for work.

As someone who's been through multiple IRS audits with my consulting LLC, I'd strongly recommend being very conservative with equipment like this. The $4,200 price point is going to raise eyebrows - I've seen auditors question much smaller equipment purchases for home offices. If you do proceed, document EVERYTHING. Keep a log of every business use (client calls, video shoots, editing sessions), take photos showing it in your dedicated workspace, and consider getting it appraised to establish fair market value. The burden of proof is on you to show legitimate business purpose. Honestly though? For that price, you might want to consider a commercial-grade machine around $1,500-2,000 instead. Still high quality for your needs, but much easier to defend as "ordinary" for a video production business. Sometimes the peace of mind is worth more than the extra features.