Can I claim expenses for business-related design or branding work?

Understanding what “design or branding work” means for tax purposes

Business-related design and branding covers a wide spectrum of work: logo creation, brand identity guidelines, website and landing page design, packaging, product labels, social media templates, presentation decks, photography used in marketing, copywriting for brand voice, and even the cost of hiring a creative director or brand strategist. In everyday conversation, these are all simply “branding.” For tax purposes, however, the way you claim these costs can depend on what the work actually produces, how long you expect it to benefit the business, and whether it’s a one-off project or part of your ongoing marketing activity.

When people ask, “Can I claim expenses for business-related design or branding work?” the practical answer is often “yes, usually,” but the more accurate answer is: it depends on the nature of the expenditure and the rules in your country. Many tax systems treat routine marketing and advertising costs as deductible business expenses, while treating certain kinds of work that create long-lasting assets (like intellectual property or a significant website build) as capital expenditure that may be claimed differently over time.

This article explains how to think about design and branding costs, the common categories they fall into, the evidence you should keep, and how to avoid pitfalls—especially when personal use or startup activity gets mixed in.

Business expenses vs capital expenditure: why the distinction matters

Most tax systems draw a line between day-to-day operating costs (often called “revenue expenses”) and costs that create or improve an asset that benefits the business over a longer period (“capital expenditure”). The reason this matters is that revenue expenses are usually deducted against profits in the period you incur them, while capital expenditure may be deducted over time through depreciation, amortisation, or specific allowances—or sometimes not deducted in the same way at all, depending on the jurisdiction and the type of asset.

Design and branding can land on either side of that line. For example, paying a designer to create a poster for a seasonal sale feels like a straightforward advertising expense. But paying an agency to produce a new brand identity system, logo suite, typography and colour system, and brand guidelines might be seen as creating an enduring asset: your brand identity. Likewise, commissioning a complex website build could be treated as creating an asset rather than a simple marketing cost.

In real life, many projects are a mixture. A branding engagement might include a one-off campaign (revenue-like) and a master brand identity (capital-like). A website invoice might include hosting (revenue), ongoing maintenance (revenue), and a new build (potentially capital). You don’t necessarily need to panic about this—good bookkeeping and clear invoices go a long way. The key is to classify costs reasonably and consistently, and to keep documentation that shows what you paid for.

When design and branding costs are commonly deductible

Although rules vary by country, design and branding costs are commonly treated as deductible when they are part of ordinary marketing or sales activity and do not create a separate, enduring asset. Typical examples include:

• Designing a flyer, brochure, catalogue, or price list for current offerings.

• Creating social media graphics for routine marketing posts.

• Designing email templates for a marketing campaign.

• Copywriting for product pages, ads, or marketing materials.

• Photography or videography used in adverts and promotional campaigns.

• Ongoing graphic design retainer fees for regular marketing needs.

• Minor website updates that keep content current (new banners, new landing pages, updating copy) rather than a full rebuild.

These tend to be viewed as costs incurred “wholly and exclusively” (or the local equivalent standard) for the purpose of generating business income. If the design work is directly tied to selling your products or services and is part of ongoing operations, it often fits neatly into marketing or advertising expenses.

Even within this “commonly deductible” group, you still need to think about private or dual-purpose use. If you commission design work that also supports a personal project, a hobby, or a side venture not connected to the business, you may need to apportion the cost and claim only the business part.

When design and branding may be treated as capital expenditure

Certain branding and design costs can be viewed as creating or improving an asset with benefits lasting beyond the current accounting period. This is where capital treatment often enters the picture. Examples that may be considered capital in many systems include:

• Creating or acquiring a logo or brand identity intended to represent the business for years.

• Producing brand guidelines that define a long-term identity system.

• Building a new website or e-commerce platform from scratch, especially if it’s a substantial build with custom functionality.

• Designing packaging that forms a long-term part of the product identity (especially if it’s not tied to a short campaign).

• Creating intellectual property, such as certain kinds of design assets, illustrations, or creative works that the business will exploit over time.

The tricky part is that branding is often “enduring” by nature. A brand identity is supposed to last. That doesn’t automatically mean it’s never deductible—different jurisdictions draw these lines differently, and some allow immediate deduction for advertising and promotion even when there are longer-term benefits. But if your country’s rules treat the creation of an identifiable asset as capital, then you may need to treat all or part of the project as capital expenditure.

Practically, this often comes down to: did you create something that is a separable asset (like a website platform or an IP right) rather than simply consuming a service to promote sales? If the work results in a recognisable asset that your business “owns” and uses over multiple years, there is a stronger argument for capital treatment.

Website design: a common grey area

Website work is one of the most common sources of confusion because invoices often bundle together multiple elements. A “website project” can include strategy workshops, UX research, design mockups, copywriting, development, plug-ins, hosting, maintenance, and analytics setup. Some of these feel like marketing. Others feel like building a long-lasting digital asset.

Here’s a practical way to approach it:

• Hosting and domain renewal: typically recurring operating costs.

• Routine updates and maintenance: often operating costs.

• Content changes and new pages for a campaign: often operating costs.

• A substantial rebuild, new platform build, or new e-commerce infrastructure: may be capital.

• Development of bespoke software features that will be used for years: may be capital.

Good invoicing can help. If your designer or developer can itemise costs—separating hosting from design from development—it becomes easier to classify. If everything is bundled in one lump sum, you may still be able to make a reasonable allocation based on the scope of work. If you do allocate, keep notes explaining your reasoning.

Logo and brand identity work: how to think about “enduring benefit”

A logo is often used for years, so it feels like an enduring asset. But branding work can also be seen as marketing spend—especially for small businesses where the brand identity is part of ongoing promotion rather than an acquired asset. Whether your local rules treat logo creation as capital, revenue, or something in between depends on the framework your tax authority uses.

From a record-keeping standpoint, the most important thing is to document the business purpose. If the branding work is for your trading business—used on invoices, business cards, websites, packaging, social media, and signage—it is clearly connected to earning revenue. Even if it is treated as capital for accounting purposes, it is still a business cost. The difference is often timing (deduct now vs deduct over time) rather than whether it’s “allowable” at all.

If you are unsure, a cautious approach is to separate short-term marketing design (ad creatives, campaign materials) from “core identity creation” (logo, guidelines, long-term assets) in your bookkeeping. That way, if you later discover that some elements should be capitalised, the adjustment is simpler.

Brand strategy, naming, and messaging: service costs with long-term impact

Brand strategy engagements can include workshops, competitor analysis, positioning statements, naming, messaging frameworks, and tone of voice guidelines. These activities can deliver value for years, but they are still primarily services rather than tangible assets. Some tax systems treat consulting services as deductible business expenses even if the advice has long-term benefit, while others take a stricter view if the work is tied to creating a new asset or launching a new business line.

A useful question is: is the strategy work part of maintaining and promoting an existing trade, or is it part of establishing something new? If you are already trading and you hire a consultant to refine your messaging to increase sales, it often sits comfortably as a business expense. If you haven’t started trading yet and the strategy is part of bringing the business into existence, your jurisdiction may treat it as a startup cost subject to specific rules.

Startup phase vs trading phase: can you claim branding costs before you start selling?

Many people spend money on branding before they make their first sale: commissioning a logo, building a website, designing packaging, creating a brand kit, and producing launch content. Whether you can “claim” those costs depends on how your tax system handles pre-trading or pre-commencement expenditure.

In some systems, certain pre-trading costs that would have been deductible if incurred after the business started are allowed and treated as incurred on the first day of trading (often within a defined time window). In other systems, the rules are more restrictive, or they require capital treatment. The key issue is whether you were genuinely setting up a business with the intention to trade, and whether the expenses are connected to that trade rather than personal experimentation.

To support a claim in the startup period, keep clear evidence of your intention to trade: business plans, supplier negotiations, product prototypes, marketing plans, domain registrations, and correspondence with clients or platforms. Branding expenses are often among the first costs incurred, and they can be legitimate—just make sure you can show they were for the business and not personal use.

“Wholly and exclusively” (or the local equivalent) and the problem of mixed-use branding

A core principle in many jurisdictions is that deductible expenses must be incurred for business purposes. The phrase varies, but the concept is similar: you can’t deduct personal expenses just because they have some business benefit.

Branding work can become mixed-use in several common scenarios:

• You commission a personal website that also includes a business page.

• You pay for a photoshoot that includes personal portraits and product images.

• You create a brand identity for a side hustle that is not yet trading, while also using the assets for a separate paid gig.

• You ask a designer to create social templates for both your business account and a personal influencer account.

In mixed-use cases, you may need to apportion the expense. The fairest approach is to split based on measurable factors where possible (for example, time spent, number of deliverables, or the portion of the shoot used for business). If you can’t measure precisely, make a reasonable estimate and keep a note explaining how you arrived at it.

Also pay attention to “private benefit” that is more than incidental. If the design work is primarily personal and only incidentally helps the business, claiming it is risky. The best defence is clarity: a clear brief, a contract naming the business as the client, and deliverables that are clearly business-focused.

How to treat subscriptions and tools used for design work

Branding and design often involve software subscriptions and digital tools: design suites, font libraries, stock photo sites, prototyping tools, website builders, plug-ins, and template marketplaces. These are commonly recurring costs, and many businesses treat them as operating expenses.

However, the same mixed-use issues apply. If you use a design subscription for both your business and personal projects, you may need to apportion. If the subscription is in your personal name but used solely for the business, it may still be a business cost, but you should keep evidence showing business use.

Another subtle point is that some purchases are effectively the acquisition of an asset rather than a subscription. For example, buying a perpetual licence, a significant theme that forms part of a long-term website build, or a large set of brand assets might have different treatment than a monthly subscription. Again, the details matter and the best practice is to keep itemised receipts and a brief explanation of how the tool supports the business.

Stock assets: fonts, images, templates, and music

Buying stock photos, illustration packs, icon sets, fonts, templates, and licensed music for adverts or videos is a common branding expense. These items are often relatively low cost and used as inputs into marketing materials. In many cases, businesses treat them as advertising or design costs.

Still, pay attention to licensing. A licence might be restricted to personal use, or it may require an extended commercial licence for certain applications like product resale or large-scale distribution. From a tax angle, the expense can still be a business cost, but using the wrong licence can create legal and commercial risk. From a practical standpoint, keep the proof of licence purchase and any terms that indicate commercial usage rights.

Outsourcing vs in-house: freelancers, agencies, and employees

Whether you hire a freelancer, an agency, or an employee, the nature of the work remains the key factor. Payments to freelancers and agencies for marketing design are often claimed as business expenses in the same way as other professional services. For employees, the salary costs are typically operating costs, and the design outputs become part of your business activity.

Where things can get complicated is ownership of the work. If you pay a designer but do not obtain the right to use the deliverables commercially (or the rights remain with the designer), the business benefit might still be real, but it may affect whether what you “own” is an asset. Many businesses assume that paying for design automatically transfers rights; that’s not always true. A written contract clarifying usage rights helps both commercially and for clean record-keeping.

Rebrands and refreshes: is updating the brand treated differently?

Businesses often refresh their brand as they grow: updating typography, refining colours, modernising the logo, revising the website, and producing new templates. A “refresh” can be smaller than a full rebrand, but it still might create assets with longer-term use.

A pragmatic approach is to look at scale and purpose:

• If the work is primarily promotional or involves routine updates, it is more likely to be treated as operating expense.

• If it is a fundamental overhaul creating a new identity system used for years, it is more likely to be treated as capital in some systems.

The bigger the project and the more it results in a distinct, enduring set of assets, the more important the classification becomes. If you’re working with an agency on a large rebrand, ask for a detailed scope and itemised invoicing. It makes life easier not only for tax treatment but also for internal management—knowing what you paid for strategy, design, rollout, and production.

Printing, signage, and physical brand materials

Branding isn’t only digital. Print runs of brochures, business cards, menus, banners, vehicle wraps, uniforms with logos, trade show stands, and shop signage can be significant costs. These often feel like advertising or selling costs, and they frequently are. But again, there can be exceptions:

• Short-lived printed marketing materials (flyers for an event) are usually straightforward operating costs.

• Durable signage or a trade show booth that will be used repeatedly might be considered a capital asset in some systems.

• Branded uniforms may be treated differently depending on whether they’re protective clothing, required for work, or adaptable for everyday personal use.

If the item is durable, reusable, and has a life of more than a year, it may be treated like equipment. Keep the invoice and a description of how and where it is used.

Claiming expenses when you’re a sole trader, limited company, or partnership

The structure of your business can affect both how you record costs and how claims are made. Generally:

• A sole trader typically claims allowable expenses against business income on the relevant tax return, and the main concern is that the expense is genuinely business-related and appropriately categorised.

• A limited company generally pays for the expenses directly, records them in the company accounts, and deducts them when calculating taxable profits, subject to the relevant rules.

• Partnerships often allocate expenses according to partnership arrangements, and partners share profits and deductions based on agreed ratios.

Regardless of structure, the fundamentals remain: the cost must be for the business, properly evidenced, and correctly classified. What changes is the reporting mechanism and, in some places, the rules around what counts as an allowable expense for the business owner personally versus for the business entity.

VAT or sales tax considerations for design and branding services

If your business is registered for VAT or a similar sales tax system, you may be able to recover input tax on design and branding services, provided the purchases are for taxable business activities and you have valid invoices. But VAT rules can be strict about invoice requirements, timing, and partial exemption for mixed-use or exempt activities.

For example, if you run a business that makes both taxable and exempt supplies, you may not be able to recover all the input VAT on branding costs. Similarly, if you commission branding work that is partly personal, you may need to restrict recovery to the business portion. Cross-border services can add another layer, with reverse charge rules or place-of-supply considerations.

Because VAT rules vary widely and can be technical, it’s often worth getting targeted advice if your branding project is large or if you buy services from overseas suppliers. As a practical step, ensure suppliers issue compliant invoices and that the invoice is addressed to the correct legal entity.

What records you should keep to support a claim

Good record-keeping is your strongest protection if your expenses are ever queried. For design and branding work, keep:

• The invoice and proof of payment (bank statement, card receipt, payment confirmation).

• A clear description of what the work was for (the brief, proposal, statement of work, or email confirmation).

• Copies of deliverables or links to live work (final logo files, brand guidelines PDF, website URL, campaign creatives).

• Contracts that clarify ownership and commercial usage rights.

• If costs are apportioned, a note explaining how you calculated the business share.

• If the cost is related to launching a new product or business line, keep supporting documents that show commercial intent.

This doesn’t need to be complicated. Even a folder per project with PDFs of invoices and a short note can be enough. The goal is to show a clear chain: business purpose → service delivered → payment made.

Common mistakes that trigger problems

Branding expenses can be legitimate, but certain patterns tend to attract scrutiny or lead to errors:

• Claiming personal brand or lifestyle content as a business expense without clear business linkage.

• Claiming design costs for a business that never starts trading, without understanding local pre-trading rules.

• Failing to separate a large website build (potentially capital) from ongoing hosting and updates (operating).

• Treating all branding as advertising without considering whether an asset has been created.

• Not keeping itemised invoices or briefs, making it hard to justify the nature of the cost.

• Paying designers “off the books” without invoices, which can create both tax and legal issues.

• Mixing multiple projects in one invoice (personal + business) with no breakdown.

If you spot any of these in your own records, you can often fix them by requesting revised invoices, writing a contemporaneous note explaining allocations, and improving documentation going forward.

Practical examples: how different branding expenses might be treated

Example 1: Social media template pack for weekly marketing
You pay a designer to create a set of reusable templates for your Instagram posts and stories. You use them to promote products weekly. This looks like a marketing/design expense, typically operating in nature, even though the templates might be used for months.

Example 2: Full brand identity package for a new business launch
You pay an agency for naming, logo design, brand guidelines, and a suite of assets. You plan to use the identity for years. Depending on local rules, parts of this may be treated as creating an intangible asset (capital) and claimed differently, while some parts (launch campaign creatives) may be operating expenses.

Example 3: Website rebuild plus hosting
Your invoice includes a one-time build fee and a monthly hosting/maintenance fee. The monthly fee is typically an operating expense. The build fee may be capital if it creates a long-term website asset, particularly if it includes development of functionality that will be used for years.

Example 4: Photoshoot for products and personal headshots
A photographer provides both product photos and personal portraits. If the personal portraits are also used for business (for example, on an “About” page or speaker profile), there may still be a business purpose. If some images are purely personal, you may need to apportion the cost.

Example 5: Branded trade show booth
You purchase a durable booth and printed panels that you will reuse across multiple events. This could be treated like equipment in some systems (capital), while the one-off promotional leaflets you hand out are operating expenses.

How to improve your chances of claiming correctly

You don’t need to become a tax technician to handle branding costs sensibly. A few habits make a big difference:

• Ask suppliers for itemised invoices that separate strategy, design, production, hosting, and maintenance.

• Ensure invoices are addressed to the correct business name and entity.

• Keep briefs and proposals that state the commercial purpose of the work.

• If you expect mixed-use, decide upfront how you’ll allocate and keep it consistent.

• Categorise expenses clearly in your bookkeeping (e.g., “Advertising & Marketing,” “Professional Fees,” “Website Costs”), and create subcategories if helpful.

• For large projects, keep a short internal memo describing what was created and why it benefits the business.

These steps help you and any adviser you work with. They also help if a tax authority queries the expense years later, when your memory of the project has faded.

Do you need an accountant’s advice for branding expenses?

For routine design work—posters, social graphics, ad creatives—many business owners can record and claim costs confidently with decent bookkeeping. It becomes more worthwhile to get advice when:

• The branding project is large and includes assets with long-term use.

• You are in a startup phase and unsure how pre-trading costs are treated.

• You operate through a structure with more complex rules (for example, multiple entities or cross-border activity).

• VAT or sales tax recovery is involved, especially with overseas suppliers.

• The project includes potentially valuable intellectual property.

An adviser can help you decide whether to treat costs as operating expenses or capital, how to document allocations, and how to handle any jurisdiction-specific rules. Even a short consultation can prevent headaches later.

Summary: can you claim expenses for business-related design or branding work?

In many cases, yes: business-related design and branding costs are claimable when they are incurred for the purpose of running and promoting your business. Routine marketing design, advertising creatives, ongoing content production, and many professional services connected to sales are commonly treated as deductible expenses.

Where you need to be careful is when the project creates a long-term asset—such as a major website build or a comprehensive brand identity—or when the expense is mixed with personal use or incurred before your business starts trading. Those situations may require different treatment, apportionment, or specific rules on timing and allowances.

If you keep clear invoices, document the business purpose, separate project elements where possible, and apply a consistent, reasonable approach, you’ll be well placed to claim what you’re entitled to while staying on the right side of the rules.