Yes. If you use tools and equipment for your business, those costs are deductible. The question is really about how to deduct them, because the IRS treats small purchases differently from large ones.

For items costing $2,500 or less per unit, you can use what’s called the de minimis safe harbor election. This lets you expense the full cost in the year you bought it. A new impact driver, a set of wrenches, a laser level, a toolbox. Buy it, deduct it, done. Most of what contractors pick up at the hardware store or supply house falls into this category.

For larger purchases over $2,500, you have options. Section 179 lets you deduct the full purchase price in the year you buy it, up to a cap that’s over a million dollars for most businesses. This applies to trucks, trailers, generators, excavators, welding rigs, and other heavy equipment. Instead of spreading the deduction over five or seven years through depreciation, you take the entire write-off now. This is usually the better move when you need to lower your tax bill in a high-income year, but it depends on your overall situation.

You can also depreciate equipment over its useful life if spreading the deduction makes more strategic sense. A contractor who expects income to grow significantly over the next few years might benefit from taking smaller deductions now and larger ones later. This is where business tax return preparation by someone who understands your situation matters, because the timing of these deductions can save or cost you thousands.

The deductions most contractors miss aren’t the big-ticket items. You remember the $15,000 skid steer. You forget the $40 in drill bits, the $120 in saw blades, the $85 worth of PPE, and the $200 replacement battery for your cordless tools. Those add up fast over twelve months. Safety gear, replacement parts, consumable accessories, tool bags, and job site supplies are all deductible.

Tracking is where it falls apart for most people. If you pay cash at a hardware store and toss the receipt, that deduction is gone. Keep every receipt or use your phone to photograph them on the spot. Better yet, use a dedicated business card for all tool purchases so every transaction shows up in your bank feed automatically.

Also worth noting: if you use a tool for both personal and business purposes, only the business portion is deductible. A chainsaw you use on job sites and at home on weekends should be split based on actual usage. The IRS won’t accept 100% business use on something you clearly also use personally.

The bottom line is that nearly everything you buy to do your job is deductible in some form. The real risk isn’t whether the deduction exists but whether you’re actually capturing it. Having bookkeeping and tax services for contractors in place means those purchases get recorded properly throughout the year instead of getting reconstructed from memory in April.