J.K. Lasser's Small Business Taxes 2013: Your Complete Guide to a Better Bottom Line

Websites

Today, websites are an integral part of advertising and promoting a business. Some companies use web sites for e-commerce and to transact business online; others use their sites as online brochures to highlight the features of their businesses and establish credibility.

Costs of Creation

Creating a web site is an important way to brand your business and keep your name before the public. Yet it has been reported that 46% of small businesses do not have a web site. Web site creation includes domain registration fees, site design, and, in some cases, professional copy, photography, and artwork used to populate the site. While there have not yet been any cases or rulings on the extent to which web site-related expenses are deductible, it can certainly be argued that these expenses relate to the promotion of goodwill for the company and should be treated as fully deductible ordinary advertising costs.

The cost of adapting a web site for mobile viewing may be treated similarly to web site creation costs. They may qualify as fully deductible ordinary advertising costs.

Maintenance Costs

Web hosting is an ongoing cost for maintaining a web site. So, too, is the cost of keeping your web site up to date, which can entail fees to outside webmasters. These maintenance fees are fully deductible, as is the cost of search engine optimization (SEO) services.