Every contractor knows they can deduct equipment, vehicles, and supplies. Those are the obvious ones. The deductions that actually make a meaningful difference at tax time are often the ones nobody told you about.
Training and Education
Any training that maintains or improves skills required in your current business is deductible. NATE certification prep and exam fees. Manufacturer training programs. Industry association conferences (registration, travel, hotel). Relevant books and subscriptions to trade publications. The certification class your tech needs for the new refrigerant transition. All of it.
What doesn't qualify: education that trains you for a new career. HVAC school for someone who doesn't already work in HVAC isn't deductible. For someone already running an HVAC business, almost everything related to trade skill improvement is.
Advertising and Marketing
Your Google ad spend. Your Yelp subscription. The vehicle wrap. Promotional items with your logo. Sponsoring a local little league team. Business cards. The website and hosting fees. If it's promoting your business, it's deductible. Many contractors deduct the obvious ones and forget the smaller ones that add up over a year.
Dues and Subscriptions
ACCA membership. PHCC. Local chamber of commerce. Industry trade associations. Software subscriptions for your business. These are all legitimate deductions most contractors underreport because they pay them throughout the year and don't keep them organized. Set up a folder (physical or digital) for dues and subscriptions receipts. Add them up at year-end.
Phone and Internet
The business percentage of your cell phone is deductible. If your phone is 80% business use, 80% of your bill is a deduction. Same with your home internet if you use it for business. Keep the bills. Track the usage percentage and document it.
Bank Fees and Interest
Business bank account fees, business credit card annual fees, and interest on business loans or lines of credit are all deductible. Small amounts that add up. Your accountant should be capturing these automatically if you're providing them complete records. If you're not sure, check your last tax return for the expense categories and verify these are showing up.
A one-hour review with your accountant focused specifically on "what am I missing" is worth the cost at least once if you've never done it.
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Written by
Dina Good
Founder, WerkOps
Dina grew up in the trades. Her father was a contractor, then a building inspector, and the job site was her classroom long before any formal one was. She went on to own her own contracting company, which is where she first felt the pain of running a skilled trade business on bad software and worse spreadsheets. A love of data pulled her into programming, and the two worlds eventually collided into WerkOps - software built by someone who has actually been on the truck.