Postage and the label itself
What a carrier charges to print and move the label is the core of the deduction, whether it was bought through a marketplace's own shipping tool or bought directly from the carrier.
Taxes
Is shipping a tax write-off?
Yes, when the shipment is a business's. Postage, a shipping label, and what a carrier charges to move a package are deductible business expenses when they are paid to run a trade or business, under the same ordinary-and-necessary rule that covers a business's other operating costs. What follows is the statute the deduction rests on, the exact line an IRS instruction booklet points to, and where the rule stops applying. Read 2026-08-21. This is general information, not personalized tax advice.
26 U.S.C. 162(a)IRS Schedule C, Line 18Not tax advice
One test, one line on the form
The rule that lets a business deduct postage is the same rule that lets it deduct rent or a laptop: ordinary and necessary.
The rule the deduction rests on
There is no separate tax code section for postage. Shipping is deductible because it falls under the general rule for business expenses, 26 U.S.C. 162(a), read 2026-08-21 at the Cornell Legal Information Institute:
“There shall be allowed as a deduction all the ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on any trade or business…”
Two words are doing the work. Ordinary means common and accepted in that line of business; buying postage to send what you sell is about as ordinary as a business expense gets. Necessary means helpful and appropriate to the business, not indispensable in some stricter sense. A package that has to leave the building to reach the customer clears both tests without much argument.
The statute says “any trade or business,” not any particular tax form, so the same test applies whether the shipment belongs to a sole proprietor, a partnership, or a corporation. What changes by entity type is which form reports the expense, not whether the expense qualifies.
Where it goes on the return
For the most common case, a sole proprietor or single-member LLC filing Schedule C, the IRS names the line directly. The 2025 Instructions for Schedule C, Form 1040, read 2026-08-21:
“Include on this line your expenses for office supplies and postage.”
That is Line 18, Office Expense. It is where outbound postage, a purchased shipping label, and a carrier's charge to move the package belong. A business run as a partnership or a corporation deducts the identical cost; it simply lands on that entity's own return instead of a Schedule C, under the same 162(a) test.
The IRS discontinued Publication 535, Business Expenses, after the 2022 tax year; its own business expense resources index — last reviewed 2026-06-27, read 2026-08-21 — now maps each topic to the current form instructions and to Publication 334, Tax Guide for Small Business, among other resources. The form instructions, not the retired publication, are the current source to check.
What counts, and what does not
Packaging supplies
Boxes, mailers, tape, and cushioning bought to ship what the business sells are ordinary supplies under the same rule that covers the postage.
Personal shipping does not qualify
Mailing a birthday gift to a relative or paying to move household goods is a personal expense. The 162(a) test is about carrying on a trade or business, and a personal shipment never clears it.
Whether the shipping charge was billed to the customer, folded into the item price, or absorbed entirely does not change the deduction. What was actually paid to the carrier is the deductible figure; shipping fees collected from customers are separate income, reported on their own line rather than netted against the postage cost.
A shipment that mixes personal and business contents in one box, or a home-based seller running personal errands on the same trip to the post office, needs the business share separated out. The deduction follows the business use, not the whole receipt.
Where these rules come from
- 26 U.S.C. § 162(a), General rule for trade or business expenses, at Cornell Legal Information Institute. Read 2026-08-21. The quotation above is the statutory wording.
- Internal Revenue Service, 2025 Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040), Line 18, Office Expense. Read 2026-08-21. Source for the postage quotation above.
- Internal Revenue Service, Guide to business expense resources — confirms Publication 535 was discontinued after the 2022 tax year and maps each of its topics to current resources, Publication 334 among them. Last reviewed by the IRS 2026-06-27. Read 2026-08-21.
This page explains a general federal rule; it is not tax advice for a specific return. State tax treatment, entity type, and a business's full set of numbers can all change the answer. A CPA or enrolled agent who can see the whole return is the one who should sign off on what gets deducted.
Common questions
Is shipping a tax write-off?
Yes, for a business. Postage, shipping labels and carrier charges paid to run a trade or business are deductible under the ordinary and necessary business expense rule at 26 U.S.C. 162(a). Shipping tied to a personal purchase or a personal move is not a business expense and does not qualify.
Where do shipping and postage costs go on a tax return?
For a sole proprietor filing Schedule C, the IRS instructions for Line 18 say to include expenses for office supplies and postage on that line. A business organized as a partnership or corporation reports the same costs on the expense lines of its own return.
Does it matter whether I charge the customer for shipping?
No. What you paid the carrier to move the package is deductible regardless of whether you billed the customer for it, absorbed it into the item price, or ate the cost. Shipping charges collected from customers are reported separately as income.
Can I deduct boxes, tape and mailers along with the postage?
Yes. Packaging materials bought to ship what the business sells are ordinary supplies under the same rule that covers the postage itself.
Is this tax advice?
No. This page explains the general rule and where the IRS instructions say to report it. It is not personalized advice, and a tax professional who knows your entity type, your state and your full return is the one who should sign off on your numbers.