I’ve seen mention of classifying purchases as a business expense, and im not certain how it works. what benefit is it to have something be a business expense, and what are the actual qualifications for something counting as one? (I am in the us but it would be interesting to see how this works in other countries as well)
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If you have your own business (or in some cases use your own money for a business related expense that is not recompensed by the company you work for), then you can deduct that from your income–which reduces the amount of taxes you have to pay. The rules for what is considered a business expense are fairly extensive, and you increase your odds of being audited by the IRS. Deducting business expenses is also only usable if you itemize your deductions. If you take the standard deduction then the expenses are likely not deductible.
It is also possible that a business expense is paid by an employee and then reimbursed by the company. This is how my company handles most travel and some lunches. You should not try to declare this as a business expense.
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