Okay, so there are a lot of forums here, so I'm not sure if this is the correct place for this question. But here goes.
Last year I spent money on notebooks, pens, and research books for the purpose of writing. I know that as far as taxes go, writers are "self-employed" and I'd have to fill out forms accordingly. The problem is, I wasn't able to sell my work last year. I'm primarily focused on getting into scifi/fantasy magazines at this time, and I was not accepted.
So for tax purposes, am I allowed to claim my expenses? They're not that much, probably around the $200 range or less. I think reporting this is possible, because when you think about businesses, they are allowed to report losses. On the other hand, since I wasn't able to sell, can I still claim my expenses? What should I do?
Last year I spent money on notebooks, pens, and research books for the purpose of writing. I know that as far as taxes go, writers are "self-employed" and I'd have to fill out forms accordingly. The problem is, I wasn't able to sell my work last year. I'm primarily focused on getting into scifi/fantasy magazines at this time, and I was not accepted.
So for tax purposes, am I allowed to claim my expenses? They're not that much, probably around the $200 range or less. I think reporting this is possible, because when you think about businesses, they are allowed to report losses. On the other hand, since I wasn't able to sell, can I still claim my expenses? What should I do?