Logo and brand design belongs on Line 8, advertising.
Why line 8
A designer's fee for a logo, a color palette or a brand photo set is money spent to make the business recognisable, which is what line 8 covers. The design work itself buys no separately salable asset, so it is deducted in the year it is paid or incurred. Work by a lawyer to register the mark, and the government filing that goes with it, is a different service and belongs on line 17.
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 logo and brand design lands on Line 8 without you sorting it.
Start for freeWhat logo and brand design is confused with
- Line 17, legal and professional services
- Design work is line 8; an attorney's fee and the filing cost to register a trademark are legal and professional services on line 17.
- Line 11, contract labor
- A designer producing your own marketing assets is line 8; a designer you hire to do billable work for a client is contract labor on line 11.
Examples that belong on line 8
- $1,500 to a freelance designer for a logo and brand guide
- A $350 brand photo session for the website and ads
- $89 on a 99designs logo contest
- $240 for stock photography licensed for the home page
- A $600 style guide for a new service line
What does not belong here
- Trademark registration handled by a lawyer, which is line 17
- A camera bought for the photo shoot, which is equipment
- Headshots used only on a personal social profile
What to keep
Keep the designer's invoice describing the deliverable and the date, plus the contract if there is one. A Form 1099-NEC may be required if you paid an unincorporated designer more than the reporting threshold for the year.
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 |
| SEO tools such as Ahrefs or Semrush | 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 logo and brand design lands on Line 8 without you sorting it.
Start for free