Daperis CPAThe Small Business Tax Deductions Checklist: What Owners Actually Miss
Most small business owners aren't losing money to deductions they've never heard of. They're losing money to the ones they already know about but don't track properly, or assume don't apply to them. Here's the list I actually go through with clients, organized by where people usually trip up.
Home Office
If part of your home is used regularly, and only, for business, not the kitchen table you also eat dinner at, but a space that's really dedicated to work, you can deduct it. You can either use a simple square-footage calculation or base it on your actual home costs. "Only for business" is the part that trips people up. A guest room that doubles as an office three days a week and hosts visitors the rest of the time usually doesn't qualify.
Vehicle Expenses
You pick one method per vehicle: either the standard mileage rate, or your actual costs, gas, insurance, repairs, split by how much you use it for business. Either way, this deduction lives or dies on a mileage log you keep as you drive, not something you reconstruct from memory later. A tracking app makes this a lot easier than the old paper logbook, and using one consistently is one of the highest-value habits for anyone who drives regularly for work, which covers most tradespeople and a lot of restaurant owners doing runs between locations.
Self-Employed Health Insurance
If you're self-employed and pay for your own health insurance, those premiums are usually deductible directly, not as an itemized deduction with a floor, which makes it more valuable than it sounds. This is capped by your business profit and has specific rules if you're also covered through a spouse's job, so check the details rather than assuming. This is separate from any HSA contribution you might be making too, don't mix the two up when you're adding up deductions.
Retirement Contributions
Putting money into a SEP IRA, Solo 401(k), or similar plan is a deductible business expense and lowers your taxable income at the same time, doing double duty as savings and a deduction. The limits change most years, so check the current number instead of assuming it's the same as last year.
Section 179 and Bonus Depreciation
Equipment, work vehicles, and other business assets can often be written off immediately instead of depreciated slowly over years. But the item has to actually be in use, not just bought or ordered, by year end to count. For a restaurant replacing kitchen equipment or a tradesperson buying a truck, this timing detail is the difference between a deduction this year or next.
Business Meals
Meals with clients, vendors, or employees while talking business are generally 50% deductible, not the full amount, which trips a lot of people up. Keep the receipt and note who was there and what you discussed. A credit card statement alone doesn't prove the business purpose if it's ever questioned.
Professional Services and Software
Accounting, legal fees, bookkeeping software, your point-of-sale system, payroll, industry software subscriptions, all of it is generally deductible. These get missed most often simply because they're small recurring charges rather than one big invoice that makes someone think "that's deductible."
Insurance Premiums
General liability, property, workers' comp, professional liability, all deductible business expenses. This is separate from the self-employed health insurance deduction above, which is for your own personal coverage, not business insurance.
Advertising and Marketing
Your website, social media ads, signage, print materials, local sponsorships, all deductible. For a business that runs on local visibility, restaurants and hospitality especially, this category is usually bigger than owners realize once they actually add it all up instead of treating it as scattered small charges.
Bank and Payment Processing Fees
Merchant fees, payment processing charges, bank account fees, all deductible. For businesses running a lot of card volume, restaurants especially, these add up fast and get missed because they're quietly deducted from your deposits automatically rather than showing up as a separate bill.
Startup Costs
Costs you paid before the business officially opened, market research, forming the entity, early marketing, get treated differently than regular expenses. You can usually deduct a limited amount right away, with the rest spread out over several years. New owners often either miss these entirely or assume they don't count because the business wasn't technically open yet.
Keep It Simple / Key Takeaway 🍕
Almost every deduction here is legitimate and available. The businesses that actually get the full benefit share one habit: they track expenses as they happen, with enough detail to explain what it was for later, instead of trying to piece together a year of spending from memory in April. If you make one change before the rest of this list matters, make it that one.
We work with restaurant and hospitality owners on exactly this kind of tracking, see how we approach it.
Same idea applies if you're a tradesperson running the business side of your trade.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. The author assumes no liability whatsoever in connection with its use. This content is not an exhaustive explanation of any topic, practice or process. You should always seek the advice of a licensed professional before making any accounting, tax, financial, investment or legal decision.