SEO tools such as Ahrefs or Semrush belongs on Line 8, advertising.
Why line 8
A keyword tool or rank tracker exists to win attention from search engines, which is the same purpose as a paid ad, so line 8 is the natural home. The alternative, office expense on line 18, is for software that runs the business rather than promotes it. Pick one treatment and keep it every year, because moving a recurring subscription between lines is what makes a return look careless.
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 SEO tools such as Ahrefs or Semrush lands on Line 8 without you sorting it.
Start for freeWhat SEO tools such as Ahrefs or Semrush is confused with
- Line 18, office expense
- Software whose output is marketing decisions is line 8; a password manager, an accounting app or a cloud drive is office expense on line 18.
- Line 27a, other expenses
- A tool that is genuinely both marketing and admin still belongs on line 8 or line 18; do not invent a marketing category in Part V.
Examples that belong on line 8
- $99 a month on an Ahrefs Starter plan
- A $139 a month Semrush subscription
- $29 a month for a rank tracker
- $500 a year for a backlink audit tool
- A $49 one-off technical site crawl
What does not belong here
- A general accounting or analytics subscription, which is office expense on line 18
- A course teaching you SEO, which is education reported in Part V
- The laptop you run the tools on, which is equipment recovered through depreciation
What to keep
Keep the vendor's monthly invoice. File an annual plan paid in a lump sum with the date paid, so the year it belongs to is unambiguous.
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 |
| sponsorship and influencer fees | 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 SEO tools such as Ahrefs or Semrush lands on Line 8 without you sorting it.
Start for free