Tax help for nail techs and salon owners
Whether you rent a chair or run the whole shop, we know what your work actually costs and what you are allowed to deduct.
Nothing is due today. Personal returns start at $250.
Your money comes in from several directions at once. Card sales through the booking app, cash at the station, tips that never touch a form, and a booth rent payment going back out every week. Nobody withholds anything for you, and the form the payment processor sends you does not tell the whole story of what you earned or what you spent to earn it.
What nail technicians can usually deduct
Ordinary and necessary costs of your work. Rules and dollar limits change year to year, so we confirm every one of these against the current year when we prepare your return.
Booth or chair rent
What you pay the salon every week or month for your station is a business expense, whether it is a flat fee, a percentage, or both. Keep the rental agreement and proof of every payment, including Zelle and cash.
If the salon takes a commission instead of rent, report what you actually earned and keep their payout statements. Two things worth a conversation. First, if the salon sets your hours, your prices, and hands you your supplies, you may legally be an employee rather than a booth renter, and that changes your whole return. Second, paying rent in the course of your own business can come with an information filing of your own at year end depending on how the salon is set up, so tell us who you pay and how much.
Gel, acrylic, and dip supplies
Builder gel, monomer, acrylic and dip powders, base and top coats, polish, tips, forms, nail glue, cuticle oil, acetone, files, buffers, and e-file bits are all deductible when you use them on clients.
A card statement that just says the beauty supply store name does not prove what you bought, especially when you grab personal items on the same trip. Keep the itemized receipts or photograph them at the register.
Lamps, e-files, and equipment
Your UV or LED lamps, e-file drill, dust collector, manicure table, rolling stool, ring light, pedicure spa chair, and autoclave or sterilizer are all business property.
Bigger items like a pedicure chair may have to be written off over several years instead of all at once, depending on the rules for the year you bought it and how much equipment you bought that year. Bring the invoice with the purchase date and we will tell you which way it goes.
Gloves, masks, and sanitation
Nitrile gloves, dust masks, disinfectant like Barbicide, implement soak jars, pedicure tub liners, towel service or laundry for salon linens, and the sanitation supplies your state board requires are deductible.
A protective smock or a logo apron is deductible because it is not suitable for everyday wear. Regular clothes are not, even if you only wear them to work and even if the acetone ruins them, because anything suitable for everyday wear fails the test.
License and state board fees
Your nail technician license renewal, state board fees, and any required sanitation or infection control course are deductible in the year you pay them.
A fine or penalty from the state board is not deductible, even though the license fee itself is. Keep those two separate in your records.
Classes, certifications, trade shows
Advanced gel extension classes, Russian manicure and structured gel training, nail art courses, and the registration and travel for a beauty trade show are deductible when they sharpen skills you already use and the trip is primarily for business.
The tuition you paid for nail school to get your first license is not deductible, because education that qualifies you for a new trade does not count. Training that improves the trade you are already in does.
Liability and business insurance
Professional liability coverage, a policy on your equipment, and the professional association membership that carries your insurance are deductible business expenses.
Your own health insurance is not a business expense on your business schedule. Self employed health insurance is handled in a different place on the return and it has its own limits, so bring what you paid and we will put it where it belongs.
Booking app, card fees, phone
GlossGenius, Vagaro, Square, Clover, appointment reminder texts, and the processing fee taken out of every card swipe are deductible. So is the business share of your phone bill, since your phone is your booking line.
A Form 1099-K generally reports your gross card sales before processing fees come out, so the number on that form will be higher than what hit your bank. Deduct the fees rather than reporting the smaller deposit amount. And only the business portion of a personal phone plan counts.
Driving for the business
Runs to the beauty supply store, trips to a second salon location, driving to a client's home or an event, and mileage for a class or trade show are business miles.
Driving from your house to the salon where you normally work is commuting and is not deductible, no matter how far it is or how early you leave. Keep a log with the date, where you went, why, and the miles. You can use the IRS standard mileage rate published for that year or your actual vehicle costs, and which options stay open to you can depend on how the vehicle was treated in its first business year. Bring us the log and we will tell you which method fits.
Photos, content, marketing
Instagram and Facebook ads, business cards, your booking website, a tripod and lighting for nail photos, and a photographer for portfolio shots are deductible.
Free sets you do on yourself, on friends, or on a model for content are not a deduction. You cannot write off the value of your own time or of services you gave away, only the products you actually used and the money you actually spent.
Home nail studio
If you see clients out of a room at home, a portion of your rent or mortgage interest, utilities, and internet can be claimed based on the space you use.
The rules are strict. The room or clearly marked area has to be used regularly and only for the business, so a guest room where you also do nails, or the dining table you clear off between clients, does not qualify. If your main workspace is the salon and the room at home is just for paperwork, that is a harder case. The deduction is also capped by the profit from the business, so it cannot create a loss. Check your lease, your local zoning, and your state board rules before working out of the house, because some states restrict where licensed services can be performed.
Retail products you resell
Polish, cuticle oil, files, and nail care kits you buy to sell to clients are tracked separately from the supplies you use up on clients, because stock you resell is generally handled as cost of goods sold.
As a general rule you deduct the cost of retail stock when it sells, not when you buy it, though there are simplified methods that can apply to a small business like yours. Either way, count what is still sitting on the shelf at the end of the year and bring us that number.
A Schedule C works for a lot of nail techs, and staying there is often the right answer. When your profit is consistently high year after year, or you open your own shop and put other techs on payroll, an S corporation is worth looking at, because it can change how self employment tax applies. It also requires paying yourself reasonable wages through payroll, filing a separate business return, and carrying real ongoing cost, so we run your actual numbers before suggesting it rather than assuming it saves you anything.
What to bring us
You do not need all of it to start. Send what you have and your checklist shows what is still open.
- Any Form 1099-NEC or Form 1099-K you received, including from Square, Clover, GlossGenius, Vagaro, PayPal, or Venmo business
- Your own record of cash services and cash tips for the year, even a phone note or a notebook
- Your booth rental agreement and proof of what you paid the salon, or your commission payout statements
- Beauty supply receipts or the card statements plus whatever receipt photos you have, and your count of unsold retail product on hand at year end
- Bank and card statements for the account the business runs through
- Invoices with dates for larger equipment such as a pedicure chair, autoclave, e-file, or dust collector
- Mileage log or an export from your mileage app, showing dates, destinations, and purpose
- License renewal, state board fees, class and certification receipts, and trade show costs
- What you paid for health insurance, plus Form 1095-A if you are on the Marketplace
- Last year's tax return and a list of any estimated tax payments you made, with dates and amounts
What trips people up
Reporting only what the card processor shows and leaving out cash and Zelle.
Keep a one line daily tally of cash services and cash tips. It is quick to do at closing, and it gives your reported income something behind it if anyone ever asks.
Running booth rent, supplies, and groceries through one personal account.
Open a separate checking account and card for the business. Every deduction on this page gets easier to prove, and reconstructing a year from a mixed statement is the slowest and most expensive way to file.
Deducting the full car, full phone, and a home office that is really the living room.
Use real percentages and keep a mileage log. An overstated deduction is the kind that invites questions, and you have to be able to support the number you claimed. Claim what you can document.
Skipping estimated payments because the first year was slow.
Once you are profitable, set a percentage aside from every week's take into a separate account and pay in during the year. We give you the number to use so you are not funding a tax bill out of next season's income.
Throwing away supply receipts because the purchase is on the card statement.
Photograph the itemized receipt at the register. The statement shows a store and a total, not what was in the bag, and beauty supply trips often mix business and personal items.
What it costs
Our published list, the same one everyone sees. Prices marked "from" are starting points, and your exact number is confirmed in writing before any work begins.
$0 is due today. You pay when you sign, or you can have your fee come out of your refund, so it can be $0 out of pocket.
Questions we get from your trade
I get paid in cash, Zelle, and card tips. Nobody sends me a form. Do I still have to file?+
Yes. Income is income whether or not a form shows up. Cash from clients and cash tips both count, and so do no show fees. Gift certificate money generally counts when you receive it if you report on the cash method, not when the client finally redeems it, so do not wait to record it. The practical part is keeping a simple daily tally so your reported income has something behind it. A note in your phone at the end of each day is enough.
I rent my booth. Does that make me self employed?+
Usually yes. A booth renter runs their own business inside someone else's shop, reports the profit on a Schedule C, and pays self employment tax on it through Schedule SE. You may never get a Form 1099-NEC from the salon, because you are the one paying them rather than the other way around, unless the salon collects from clients and pays you out. Either way, no form does not mean no filing requirement.
Do I need to make quarterly payments?+
If you are a booth renter or shop owner, nobody is withholding anything from what you earn, and the federal system expects tax to be paid during the year rather than all at once in April. Underpaying during the year can trigger a penalty on top of the tax. We look at your income and tell you what to set aside and when, so it is a plan and not a surprise.
I bought a pedicure chair and a new e-file. Can I write it all off this year?+
Maybe, and it depends on the rules for the year you bought it and how much equipment you purchased in total. Some equipment can be deducted in full right away and some has to be spread over several years. Bring the invoices with the purchase dates and we will apply the right treatment instead of guessing.
I work at a salon as a W-2 employee but I buy my own brushes and files. Can I deduct them?+
Under current federal law, employees generally cannot deduct their own unreimbursed work expenses on the federal return, so the answer is usually no. A handful of states still allow a version of it on the state return, so we check that. This is one reason the booth renter versus employee question matters. If your salon can reimburse you instead, ask about it, and bring us your pay stubs so we can see how you are actually classified.
Do you work with Spanish speaking clients?+
Yes. We work in English and Spanish, and we serve clients in other states, not only in Florida. Nothing gets explained to you in a language you have to translate in your head.
Let us take the tax part off your plate.
Tell us what you need and see your price. A real person on your team replies within one business day.