I own a small jewelry store (sole prop). I’m planning to buy a Sony A7IV camera (~$2,000) and a Sigma lens (~$1,000) for business use.
The plan is to keep the camera at my store 24/7 and use it exclusively for:
• Taking photos of jewelry I make/sell for my website & social media
• Documenting the jewelry-making process for Instagram/TikTok content
• Occasionally photographing jewelry on a model to show sizing/fit
Would this setup count as a legitimate business deduction (equipment/ or even Section 179) on my Schedule C, or could it be considered “excessive” or personal? Would I need to get a cheaper camera/lens setup?
I just want to make sure I do this correctly and have solid documentation for tax time. Anyone with CPA or small-business experience, I’d love your input — especially if you’ve written off cameras for product photography before.
Can I write off a $2k camera + $1k lens for my jewelry business?
byu/ifeelinvincible0 intax
Posted by ifeelinvincible0
5 Comments
Will you ever use it for non-business purposes? Even occasionally? Or will be absolutely used exclusively for business purposes?
I was thinking that would require depreciation, but [https://www.usbank.com/corporate-and-commercial-banking/insights/credit-finance/equipment/maximize-deductions-section-179.html](https://www.usbank.com/corporate-and-commercial-banking/insights/credit-finance/equipment/maximize-deductions-section-179.html) seems to say this can be accelerated to be deducted in the same year.
It’s an ordinary and necessary business expense. If you use it for personal use too you would need to take the percentage of the basis you use for business as the business expense.
I think it may qualify for a de minimus business expense anyways so could be claimed all first year since it’s under $2,500? Maybe a tax pro can clarify. But usually cameras are depreciated over 5 years.
take this with a grain of salt as I’m just a tax student.
You can deduct expenses that are ordinary and necessary for your business. There is no strict definition of what that means. Some questions to ask yourself might be: do other jewelry businesses use similar cameras? Are there significantly cheaper cameras that accomplish the same business purpose? Since you are using the camera entirely for business without any personal use, logically you’d want to go with the cheapest option that meets your business needs, so that makes it easier to justify if challenged.
Yes, you can write this off business expense. It is necessary and ordinary. You could depreciate it over five years. Anything you buy for the business you could expense as long as it is necessary for the business. A camera for a jeweler is certainly necessary.