The Complete Dental Specialist Business Expense Checklist
A detailed, plain-English checklist of business expenses, equipment purchases and common mistakes for independent contractor dental specialists.
This is the longer version of our guide to business deductions for independent contractor dental specialists. If you like detailed checklists, here are the expenses worth asking about. Checking an item does not mean it automatically qualifies as a deduction.
Use this list to review your accounting records or to prepare for a conversation with your CPA. It applies broadly to Schedule C contractors and LLC/S-Corp owners, although reporting and reimbursement rules can differ.
How to use this checklist: Review one category at a time. If you paid for something for your work, confirm the business purpose, keep the receipt and ask your accountant how to report it. The boxes are a reference checklist, not an eligibility determination.
Dental supplies and clinical materials
Only include supplies you or your business purchase, not those supplied by the office.
- ☐ Disposable clinical supplies: gloves, masks, gauze, needles, syringes and disinfectants.
- ☐ Endodontic supplies: files, burs, irrigants, obturation materials and small consumable instruments.
- ☐ Oral surgery supplies: sutures, grafting materials, membranes and surgical disposables.
- ☐ Orthodontic supplies: brackets, wires, elastics and materials purchased for patient care.
- ☐ Pediatric and restorative supplies: anesthetics, cements, bonding and restorative materials.
- ☐ Sterilization wraps, pouches and infection-control consumables.
- ☐ Dental laboratory expenses, outsourced lab services and shipping related to cases.
- ☐ Small replacement instruments and routine equipment maintenance materials.
Licenses, certifications and professional dues
Maintaining existing credentials is different from paying for education or credentials required to enter a new profession.
- ☐ Dental license renewals and additional state license renewals.
- ☐ DEA and applicable state controlled-substance registrations.
- ☐ Sedation and anesthesia permit renewals.
- ☐ Specialty board recertification and maintenance fees.
- ☐ BLS, ACLS, PALS and other clinically required renewals.
- ☐ Credentialing services, hospital privileges and qualifying background checks.
- ☐ ADA, state or local dental associations and applicable specialty society dues.
- ☐ Required HIPAA, OSHA and radiation safety training.
Continuing education and professional learning
Training generally must maintain or improve skills you already use in your profession.
- ☐ CE registration fees and qualifying hands-on clinical workshops.
- ☐ Dental, surgical and specialty conferences.
- ☐ Online CE subscriptions, webinars and clinical study clubs.
- ☐ Dental journals, professional publications, clinical textbooks and research subscriptions.
- ☐ Business courses related to operating your existing dental services business.
- ☐ Supplies consumed during qualifying clinical training.
Business travel and transportation
Personal commuting normally does not qualify. Keep dates, destinations, business purpose and mileage records.
- ☐ Business mileage between qualifying dental practice locations.
- ☐ Eligible trips to temporary worksites under applicable IRS rules.
- ☐ Airfare, train or other transportation for business conferences.
- ☐ Hotels and lodging on qualifying overnight business trips.
- ☐ Rental cars, airport transportation, rideshare and taxis for business travel.
- ☐ Business-related parking fees and tolls.
- ☐ Eligible baggage, shipping and transportation fees for clinical instruments.
- ☐ Qualifying travel-related incidentals.
Meals and business meetings
Most eligible business meals are 50% deductible. Ordinary lunch while working is personal.
- ☐ Qualifying meals with contracting dental practice owners.
- ☐ Qualifying meals with business advisers or referral partners.
- ☐ Meals on eligible overnight business trips.
- ☐ Qualifying meals at professional conferences and business meetings.
- ☐ Eligible employee meals or events, which may follow different rules.
Business insurance
Do not confuse business protection with insurance that replaces your personal income.
- ☐ Professional malpractice and professional liability insurance.
- ☐ Malpractice tail insurance where applicable.
- ☐ General business liability and business property policies.
- ☐ Cyber liability and data breach protection insurance.
- ☐ Business interruption and qualifying business overhead expense insurance.
- ☐ Workers' compensation and employment-related insurance where applicable.
- ☐ Business-use portion of commercial auto coverage, if using actual-expense treatment.
Accounting, legal and professional services
Some fees related to buying a practice or a major asset must be treated as part of that purchase.
- ☐ Business CPA fees and business tax return preparation.
- ☐ Bookkeeping and business financial statement preparation.
- ☐ Payroll services and employment compliance support.
- ☐ Attorney fees for business contract review and qualifying business disputes.
- ☐ Business consulting and practice management advice.
- ☐ Registered agent fees and annual entity compliance services.
- ☐ Tax planning and business-related professional advice, to the extent eligible.
Office, administration and technology
For mixed personal and business items, generally record only the business-use percentage.
- ☐ Business office supplies, paper, toner, postage and printing.
- ☐ Business-use cellphone and internet service.
- ☐ Work-related software subscriptions, cloud storage and electronic signature services.
- ☐ Dental imaging or treatment-planning software subscriptions.
- ☐ QuickBooks, payroll software and other recurring administrative subscriptions.
- ☐ Professional email, videoconferencing and secure document sharing.
- ☐ Cybersecurity, password management and data backup subscriptions.
- ☐ Coworking or office rental used for business.
- ☐ Bank account, payment processing, merchant and business credit card fees.
- ☐ Routine repairs, maintenance and cleaning of business premises.
Marketing, advertising and professional development of business
Referral compensation, gifts and promotions must comply with dental ethics and applicable laws.
- ☐ Professional website hosting, routine maintenance and domain renewals.
- ☐ Business cards, brochures and other marketing materials.
- ☐ Online, print and professional directory advertising.
- ☐ Professional photography and business headshots used for marketing.
- ☐ Eligible trade show or networking event registration.
- ☐ Business branding and design services.
- ☐ Permissible client or professional gifts, subject to applicable limits.
Uniforms and protective work clothing
Ordinary clothes, including many items that can be worn outside work, usually do not qualify.
- ☐ Qualifying protective surgical gowns, laboratory coats and PPE.
- ☐ Qualifying radiation protection apparel and specialized protective gear.
- ☐ Cleaning and laundering of eligible protective work garments.
Employees and contract support
Only actual business compensation and qualified employer costs belong here. LLC/S-Corp shareholder distributions are not wages.
- ☐ Wages and salaries paid to legitimate employees.
- ☐ Employer payroll taxes and unemployment insurance.
- ☐ Contract dental assistants, qualified temporary clinical support and business administrators.
- ☐ Virtual assistants, contract bookkeepers and outsourced billing.
- ☐ Recruitment costs, employee background checks and job postings.
- ☐ Eligible employee training and employee benefits administration.
- ☐ Employer retirement contributions, subject to plan and entity rules.
Business taxes, interest and other charges
Income tax payments and legal penalties generally are not ordinary business deductions.
- ☐ Business license and applicable state or local business taxes.
- ☐ Qualifying business loan and equipment financing interest.
- ☐ Business property taxes.
- ☐ Legitimate collection and debt recovery expenses.
- ☐ Business bank wire, merchant and transaction fees.
- ☐ Other documented ordinary and necessary operating expenses.
Equipment and major purchases: keep these separate
Some items last for years and cannot always be treated like supplies. Your CPA may deduct an eligible purchase in the first year or spread the deduction across several years. Spreading it out is called depreciation. Keep the price, invoice, purchase date, date first used for business, and percentage used for work.
- ☐ Dental operating microscopes, surgical microscopes and other major clinical systems.
- ☐ X-ray equipment, digital sensors and CBCT scanners.
- ☐ Intraoral scanners, 3D printers and CAD/CAM systems.
- ☐ Dental lasers, autoclaves, sterilizers and clinical monitoring equipment.
- ☐ Expensive handpieces, surgical motors and durable equipment.
- ☐ Computers, tablets, servers, cameras and professional electronics.
- ☐ Office furniture, cabinets and permanent fixtures.
- ☐ Business vehicles and major vehicle improvements.
- ☐ Office remodeling, built-in equipment, electrical and plumbing improvements.
Purchased practices and other long-term business assets
A purchased practice, patient list, business name, goodwill or certain purchased software may have special rules. Some costs are deducted over several years using a process called amortization. In everyday terms, it means spreading the deductible cost of a purchase over time. Have your CPA classify these separately.
- ☐ Purchased patient lists or practice goodwill.
- ☐ Practice acquisition legal, valuation and transaction costs.
- ☐ Certain purchased software and long-term licenses.
- ☐ Business startup and organizational costs that may require special treatment.
Expenses that commonly do not qualify
- ☐ Normal commuting between home and a regular work location.
- ☐ Ordinary everyday lunches and meals without a qualifying business purpose.
- ☐ Personal clothing and everyday shoes.
- ☐ Personal student loan principal payments.
- ☐ Personal life insurance and personal income-replacement disability coverage.
- ☐ Ordinary personal living expenses, including the personal portion of your phone or vehicle.
- ☐ Federal income tax payments and most fines or penalties.
- ☐ LLC/S-Corp shareholder distributions.
- ☐ Expenses already paid or reimbursed by someone else without proper accounting.
Schedule C versus LLC/S-Corp: one important difference
A Schedule C sole proprietor generally claims eligible business costs on Schedule C. An LLC/S-Corp generally pays business expenses directly or uses a properly documented accountable plan to reimburse the owner-employee for qualifying personally paid costs. Shareholder wages, health insurance, retirement contributions and personal mileage need special handling. Do not treat owner draws or distributions as deductions.
Track the purchases, not just the deductions
You can use QuickBooks, another bookkeeping system or our free Excel Business Expense Tracker. Separate regular purchases, business mileage and major equipment purchases so your CPA can decide how they should be reported.
This list is general educational information, not individualized tax or legal advice. Tax treatment depends on business purpose, substantiation, business-use percentages, reimbursement arrangements, entity structure and current federal and state rules. Review uncertain expenses, owner benefits, major purchases and business meals or travel with a qualified tax professional.