Running your own plumbing business comes with a lot of expenses that didn't exist when you were an employee, but it also comes with the ability to deduct many of those same expenses against your income, which is one of the genuine financial upsides of going out on your own. Knowing the broad categories helps you keep better records throughout the year instead of scrambling every April.
Tools and Equipment
Pipe wrenches, drain machines, press tools, torch kits, and the rest of your working kit are generally deductible, either as a full deduction in the year you buy them or depreciated over several years depending on the cost and the specific rules in effect for that tax year. This applies to both brand-new purchases and used equipment you buy secondhand, as long as it's genuinely used for the business.
Keeping receipts and a simple log of what you bought and when matters more than people expect, since an equipment deduction with no paper trail is a lot harder to defend if it's ever questioned.
Vehicle Expenses
Your van is probably the single largest deductible expense in the business, and you generally have a choice between two methods: the standard mileage rate, where you multiply your business miles by an IRS-set rate per mile, or the actual expense method, where you deduct the real cost of gas, insurance, maintenance, and depreciation based on the percentage of the van's use that's for business. For a vehicle used almost entirely for work, like most plumbing vans, the actual expense method often produces a bigger deduction, but it also requires more detailed recordkeeping.
Either way, a mileage log or a GPS-based tracking app running throughout the year is worth the minor hassle, since trying to reconstruct a year of driving from memory in March never goes well.
Continuing Education and License Renewal
Journeyman and master plumber license renewal fees, continuing education courses required to maintain your license, and even trade-specific certifications like backflow prevention or medical gas certification are generally deductible as ordinary business expenses. This is a category a lot of new owners forget about simply because these costs felt like a normal part of the job when an employer was handling the paperwork.
Insurance Premiums
The premiums you pay for general liability, commercial auto, workers' comp, and your surety bond are all deductible business expenses. If you're self-employed and paying for your own health insurance rather than getting it through an employer, there's often a separate deduction available for that as well, which is worth flagging specifically to your accountant since it's handled differently than your business insurance.
Home Office, If It Applies
If you're running the business side of things — invoicing, scheduling, bookkeeping — from a dedicated space in your home rather than a separate office, you may be able to deduct a portion of your home expenses like utilities, insurance, and a share of your rent or mortgage interest, based on the percentage of your home's square footage that space takes up. The space generally needs to be used regularly and exclusively for business to qualify, so the kitchen table where you also eat dinner every night typically won't count.
Uniforms and Work Clothing
Branded work shirts, safety gear, and clothing that isn't suitable for everyday wear outside of work are generally deductible, along with the cost of laundering them if that's a regular business expense. Everyday clothing that just happens to get worn on the job, like a plain pair of jeans, typically doesn't qualify, since the rule generally hinges on whether the clothing is genuinely specific to the work.
This Is General Education, Not Tax Advice
Every one of these categories has specific rules, dollar limits, and documentation requirements that change from year to year and depend on your particular business structure, whether you're a sole proprietor, an LLC, or an S-corp. This post is meant to give you a general sense of where to look, not to replace an actual conversation with an accountant who can look at your specific numbers and tell you exactly what applies to your situation.
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