You can enter this advertising cost in TurboTax using the instructions below:Go to Federal > Income & ExpensesUnder Your income and expenses, click Edit next to Self-employment income and expensesworkOn the next screen, click Edit next to your Line of workScroll down to the Expenses section and click Add expenses for workOn the Tell us about any expenses for work page, scroll down and expand Less Common Expenses and select Advertising and then Continue.You can enter Groupon in the description and then the amount.

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As a hairstylist, I use Groupon to promote my business and entice new clientele. Can I write off this loss revenue?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
June 3, 2019
2 replies
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TurboTax Self Employed Online

Best answer by Tonita

You can enter this advertising cost in TurboTax using the instructions below:

Go to Federal > Income & Expenses
Under Your income and expenses, click Edit next to Self-employment income and expenses
work
On the next screen, click Edit next to your Line of work
Scroll down to the Expenses section and click Add expenses for work
On the Tell us about any expenses for work page, scroll down and expand Less Common Expenses and select Advertising and then Continue.
You can enter Groupon in the description and then the amount.

T

TonitaAnswer

Employee

You can enter this advertising cost in TurboTax using the instructions below:

Go to Federal > Income & Expenses
Under Your income and expenses, click Edit next to Self-employment income and expenses
work
On the next screen, click Edit next to your Line of work
Scroll down to the Expenses section and click Add expenses for work
On the Tell us about any expenses for work page, scroll down and expand Less Common Expenses and select Advertising and then Continue.
You can enter Groupon in the description and then the amount.

T

treyjoynerAuthor

What's the difference between expenses and "deductions and credits"? Both ask for home office, travel, etc. After inputting expenses from Groupon losses as advertisement, I'm showing a 9k loss for the year. Is this normal? Will it be a red flag for an IRS audit?

Carl11_2

Employee

Can I write off this loss revenue?

What lost revenue? I'm not clear. I get the impression that assumptions are being made that may or may not be correct. What kind of tax reporting document did Groupon send you? A 1099-K1? A 1099-MISC? Something else? On whatever form they sent, in what box is the income reported? Is the amount reported "only" the amount that you actually received from Groupon?

W

woodydog

Groupon does not send 1099s or any other tax forms. They provide a merchant agreement with a "Remittance" amount per voucher they sell on your behalf. For instance, if your retail price is $600 for a service, they will sell it for $300 and then multiply the total number of vouchers sold for the most recent 2 week period and pay you 65% of the gross amount they charge. For instance, if 10 vouchers are sold on their platform @ $300 each, they'd generate $3000 for themselves, then send you a one-time payment to your checking account for $1950. The cost to generate that $1950 is the commission paid to Groupon of $1050. There is no invoice for the $300 per voucher on your side, they simply skim it off the top and pay you the difference. But it's a legitimate expense to generate the remittance amount. You never see the $3000, only Groupon does.