5 Commonly Overlooked Tax Deductions for Business Owners

After deducting so many business expenses from your taxes, you’d expect to pay a balance you can actually afford.

Instead, you might be faced with a huge number that doesn’t seem to justify itself.

How can this happen when you’ve deducted all necessary business costs? Is there any other way to cut these costs?

Luckily, there are many overlooked tax deductions you can claim. You’re bound not to know all of them, and every penny counts when it comes to running a business.

So if you’re interested in learning about common tax deductions that business owners overlook, keep reading. We’re bound to give you a few ideas on how to save big during your quarterly tax seasons.

1. Marketing Costs

Marketing and advertising are basically essential business costs. After all, how can you have a business if you have no way to attract businesses to it?

Knowing this, the IRS officially designates business promotion as a necessary business expense. Whether that be a digital marketing campaign, a physical project, or business cards, business owners are able to deduct these costs and advertise without long-term financial impact.

2. Legal Services

No matter what, there’s no guarantee that you’ll never get involved in legal trouble. For those moments, having a legal team is crucial.

But although it seems expensive, hiring an attorney for your business does not have to cause a giant gap in your budget. In fact, as long as they help your business, any costs towards professional services that actually help your business count as tax deductions.

3. Auto Expenses

Sometimes, work requires travel. For this reason, the IRS counts business-related auto expenses as valid tax write-offs.

Track your mileage with a mileage tracker app and keep gas receipts. Having both your day-to-day mileage and your receipts will help a lot during tax season.

You can also deduct reregistration costs, fuel, insurance, etc. This allows you to track your car’s depreciation in value, which you can also write off on your taxes.

No matter what, understand the rules around auto-related business expense deductions. Doing so can save your business a lot of money for years to come. Coupling this motivation with a professional bookkeeper can also make the job much easier and much more precise.

4. Local & States Tax

That’s right — tax is tax-deductible. But of course, this condition comes with a catch.

While taxpayers can deduct state and local sales/income taxes they’ve paid throughout the tax year, but not both. Deductions are also capped at $10,000 for single filers, meaning you won’t be able to deduct all of your taxes. Nonetheless, $10,000 is a minty number.

5. Education

For certain industries, it’s important that experts continue to educate themselves. This education could also be necessary to maintain proper licensing.

That’s why any training/education programs and materials count as tax deductions. As long as they provide essential education, they’re categorized as tax write-offs for businesses.

Don’t Miss These Overlooked Tax Deductions!

Starting a new business can be rocky, and the annual prospect of taxes can make anxieties even worse. But by understanding the most commonly overlooked tax deductions, you can save a ton of money that you can invest in more important matters.

At Sterling Tax & Accounting, we understand how important it is to know how your money moves, and how you can save as much as possible. That’s why we offer premium accounting services for any working adult looking to alleviate financial confusion. If that sounds good to you, contact us today—let’s talk about how we can save you money!