How to Track Your Baking Equipment for Tax Purposes
Here’s a fact most home bakers don’t know: your KitchenAid stand mixer is potentially a tax-deductible business expense. So are your cake pans, offset spatulas, and food processor.
The IRS considers baking equipment a business asset when you run a home bakery. However, you have to track it properly. Here’s how to do that — no accounting degree required.
What Counts as Deductible Equipment
If you use it primarily for your baking business, it likely qualifies. For example, all of the following are eligible:
- Stand mixers, hand mixers, food processors
- Ovens and specialty appliances (convection oven, dehydrator, etc.)
- Cake pans, sheet pans, springform pans, molds
- Decorating tools — piping tips, airbrush kits, fondant tools, turntables
- Packaging equipment (heat sealers, label printers)
- Photography equipment used for product photos
- Storage solutions (sheet pan racks, ingredient bins)
Keep every receipt. Even $8 worth of piping tips adds up to real deductions over a year. The IRS wants documentation — a bank statement alone often isn’t enough.
Build Your Asset Log
An asset log is a running record of everything you’ve purchased for your bakery. You can keep it in a spreadsheet, a notebook, or an app. The key is to stay consistent.
Here’s the format to use:
| Item | Date Purchased | Cost | Where Purchased | Business Use % | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KitchenAid Stand Mixer 5qt | 03/12/2025 | $429.99 | Williams Sonoma | 100% | Primary mixing for all orders |
| Wilton 3-pc Round Pan Set | 04/01/2025 | $34.99 | Amazon | 100% | Used for tiered cakes |
| Piping tip variety set | 04/18/2025 | $8.50 | Michaels | 100% | Buttercream florals |
| Convection Countertop Oven | 05/30/2025 | $179.00 | Costco | 80% | Also used occasionally for personal |
The Business Use % column is critical. If you use equipment for both personal and business baking, you can only deduct the business portion. Be honest here — the IRS looks for this.
Section 179 vs. Depreciation: The Simple Version
When deducting equipment, you generally have two options. Each works differently depending on the size of your purchase.
Deduct the full cost of qualifying equipment in the year you bought it. This works best for items under a few thousand dollars. It’s simpler and faster — most home bakers should use this for smaller purchases.
Spread the deduction across the useful life of the asset — typically 5–7 years for kitchen equipment. This is more complex. However, it’s sometimes better for larger investments or higher-income years.
What to Do Right Now
Getting started takes less than an hour. First, open a spreadsheet and start your asset log — even for items purchased this year. Next, go through your bank and credit card statements for the past 12 months. Flag any bakery equipment purchases you find.
Then take these final steps:
- Photograph or scan every receipt and save them in a dedicated folder (digital is fine)
- Note the business use percentage for anything you also use personally
Talk to a CPA or tax professional who works with small food businesses before filing. Equipment deductions have rules and thresholds that vary by your business structure and income. This post is for informational purposes only — not tax advice.
What BatterSuite Helps With
BatterSuite is built to track your ingredient costs and pricing per order — not a full accounting suite. For equipment and asset tracking, your best friends are a simple spreadsheet and a good tax pro.
That said, getting your ingredient costs, recipe pricing, and order profitability dialed in? That’s exactly what BatterSuite is built for.
Stop guessing at your numbers. BatterSuite makes bakery pricing clear and simple.