Sponsorship and influencer fees belongs on Line 8, advertising.
Why line 8
Paying a creator, a podcast or a local team to put your name in front of their audience is advertising, and a trade show booth fee is the same bargain in a hall rather than a feed. It stays on line 8 as long as the payment is a fixed amount for exposure. Product sent to a creator instead of cash is deducted at your cost, not at retail.
Stop looking up lines one at a time. ClaryBook totals your year into an IRS Schedule C worksheet in form order, Part I and Part II line by line, so sponsorship and influencer fees lands on Line 8 without you sorting it.
Start for freeWhat sponsorship and influencer fees is confused with
- Line 10, commissions and fees
- A flat fee for a post or a booth is line 8; an affiliate or referral payment calculated as a share of the sales it produces is a commission on line 10.
- Line 24a, travel
- The booth fee is line 8; the flight and hotel to staff the booth are travel on line 24a.
Examples that belong on line 8
- $750 for a sponsored Instagram post by a local food creator
- A $1,200 booth fee at a regional home show
- $300 sponsoring a youth soccer team with your name on the shirts
- A $500 podcast ad read for a bookkeeping practice
- $250 of product sent to a creator, deducted at your cost
What does not belong here
- A referral fee paid per closed job, which is a commission on line 10
- Travel to the event, which is line 24a
- A charitable donation that buys no advertising, which is not a Schedule C deduction
The limit that applies
A payment to a charity that buys no advertising in return is not a business expense; a sole proprietor claims that as a contribution on Schedule A instead.
What to keep
Keep the agreed scope or contract, the invoice, and a copy or screenshot of what actually ran. Exposure you cannot show happened is hard to defend.
Other expenses on line 8
| Expense | Line |
|---|---|
| a domain name registration | Schedule C, Line 8 |
| a Squarespace or Webflow subscription | Schedule C, Line 8 |
| an email marketing tool such as Mailchimp | Schedule C, Line 8 |
| business cards and printed flyers | Schedule C, Line 8 |
| Facebook and Instagram ad spend | Schedule C, Line 8 |
| Google Ads spend | Schedule C, Line 8 |
| logo and brand design | Schedule C, Line 8 |
| SEO tools such as Ahrefs or Semrush | Schedule C, Line 8 |
| website hosting | Schedule C, Line 8 |
Related lookups
Sources
This page explains how Schedule C lines work. It is general information, not tax advice for your situation. If an expense is large or the answer turns on a fact about your business, confirm it with your tax preparer.
Looking for a different expense? The full Schedule C line lookup has every line from 8 to 27 with the expenses that belong on each, and Schedule C expense categories walks the whole form in order.
Stop looking up lines one at a time. ClaryBook totals your year into an IRS Schedule C worksheet in form order, Part I and Part II line by line, so sponsorship and influencer fees lands on Line 8 without you sorting it.
Start for free