📌 Every expense category a content creator running as a sole proprietor can reasonably claim, organised to match the Expense Log dropdown, with the official T2125 line each one maps to. Use it as a lookup when you are tagging an expense.
<aside>
🇨🇦
This reference is written for Canada (CRA rules, Form T2125). If you are elsewhere, the category structure still works, but swap the line numbers and thresholds for your own country's equivalents.
</aside>
The three rules that govern all of it
- Incurred to earn business income. There has to be a real link between the cost and your creator work.
- Business portion only. For anything you also use personally (phone, internet, home, car), you claim the business percentage, not the whole thing.
- Documented. Keep the receipt and a note of your reasoning. The CRA can ask you to support a claim for six years.
Log everything in CAD, and record sales tax paid separately so it is ready as an input tax credit if you ever register for GST/HST.
🟢 Categories you'll use most
📣 Advertising & Promotion — line 8521
Marketing and anything that promotes you or your services.
- Paid ads on Meta, Instagram, TikTok, Google, or YouTube, plus boosted posts
- Website hosting and domain name
- Email marketing tools
- Link-in-bio tools, business cards, printed promo
- Giveaways or prizes run to grow the audience
💻 Software & Subscriptions — usually line 9270 (Other)
The core of a creator's costs. Subscriptions typically land in Other (9270) rather than 8760.
- Editing tools
- Design tools