Book publishing

DBee

my husband wrote a book and we paid money to the publisher up front in full. How would I deduct this on my taxes? Will it be a one time deduction or over years and if over years, how do I figure the amount for each year?

income from it I think would be Scheduled C?

Thanks!

GerhardtQ

You'll report all expenses and income associated with your husband's authoring pursuits on a Schedule C. To do so, click 'Income' > 'Business Income' and continue through the screens when you complete your tax return this year.

Generally speaking, you'll report expenses in the year you paid them. As that's the case, you'll likely report the entire amount you paid to the publisher as an expense on your Schedule C this year.

If you purchased something tangible and expensive for the business (typically equipment of some kind) with a lifespan of more than a year, you'll add that item to your Schedule C as a 'depreciable asset'. You'll deduct the cost of that depreciable asset over multiple years.