# What expense category is Microsoft Software?

Microsoft Software is classified as a Restaurants expense. Microsoft 365 is a cloud-based SaaS productivity suite including Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Teams, Outlook email, OneDrive storage, and optional Copilot AI, billed per user per month.

**URL Source:** https://www.brex.com/tools/expense-classifier/microsoft-software

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# What expense category is Microsoft Software?

Microsoft Software is classified asRestaurants·Fully deductible

Microsoft 365 is a cloud-based SaaS productivity suite including Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Teams, Outlook email, OneDrive storage, and optional Copilot AI, billed per user per month.

At a Glance

CategoryRestaurants

Tax statusFully deductible

Avg. spend$6–$38/user/month depending on plan tier; a 10-person business typically spends $720–$2,640/year

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Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) is Microsoft's flagship subscription-based productivity platform for businesses. It delivers desktop and web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams, along with 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage per user, SharePoint, and optional AI features via Copilot add-on. Plans are priced per user per month on annual commitments, ranging from $6 (Business Basic) to $22 (Business Premium) for SMBs, and $8–$38+ for enterprise tiers. Because users access the software via subscription and never hold a perpetual license, this is a fully deductible SaaS operating expense. Note: the vendor's assigned category of 'Restaurants' in the source data is incorrect — Microsoft 365 is unambiguously a SaaS product.

## How businesses classify Microsoft Software

RestaurantsMost common100%

100% of transactions classified under Restaurants

## Tax details

Fully deductible

Capital vs. Operating

Operating expense — subscription fees are fully deductible as ordinary business expenses

Section 179

Not eligible for Section 179

Documentation tips

-   Microsoft 365 is billed per user per month — reconcile your active user count quarterly to avoid paying for departed employees' licenses.
-   Retain the Microsoft 365 admin center invoice each billing cycle; it details per-user costs and plan tiers, which is useful for allocating costs across departments.
-   Annual prepaid Microsoft 365 plans can be deducted in full in the year paid if your business uses the cash accounting method.
-   Copilot AI add-on fees ($18–$30/user/month) are also deductible SaaS costs — track these as a separate line item if material.
-   If Microsoft 365 licenses are provided to employees as a business tool, the cost is fully deductible; if any licenses are used for personal purposes only, that portion should be excluded.

## Business insights

Average spend

$6–$38/user/month depending on plan tier; a 10-person business typically spends $720–$2,640/year

Common industries

Professional ServicesHealthcareEducationRetail & HospitalityFinancial ServicesManufacturingNonprofit

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For illustrative purposes only. Results shown are estimates and not guarantees. Based on internal metrics. Past performance does not guarantee future results, which may vary.