Updated
Looking for what to hand your accountant instead? See what to give your accountant at tax time.
How do I use this small business deductions checklist?
Go category by category, tick what your business actually paid for in 2026, and check that you have the record listed for it. The test for every item is the same one IRS Publication 334 sets out: the expense must be ordinary ("common and accepted in your field") and necessary ("helpful and appropriate for your business"). If something was partly personal, only the business part generally counts.
For the rule behind each category and the IRS publication to read, see the longer self-employed tax deductions list. Figures below are for tax year 2026 (returns filed in 2027) unless noted.
What space and equipment costs should I check?
These are usually the largest fixed costs, and the records tend to be invoices and leases.
- Rent or lease of office, shop or storage space. Keep: the lease and proof of each payment.
- Home office. Keep: a floor measurement of the space and of the whole home, a note of how the space is used, and rent, mortgage interest, property tax, utility and insurance bills if you use the regular method. Publication 587 requires regular and exclusive use; the simplified method is $5 × up to 300 sq ft.
- Utilities for business premises. Keep: the bills.
- Repairs and maintenance that don't add value or prolong the property's life. Keep: invoices showing what was fixed.
- Equipment and furniture. Keep: the invoice with the date bought, the date you started using it, and the cost. Items up to $2,500 per invoice or item may qualify for the de minimis safe harbor (an annual election); larger items are depreciated or may use section 179 (up to $2,560,000 for 2026, and never more than your business's taxable income); ask your CPA which applies.
- Rented equipment or vehicles. Keep: the rental agreement and payments.
What day-to-day operating costs should I check?
These are small and frequent, which is exactly why they get missed.
- Supplies and materials used during the year. Keep: receipts or invoices.
- Office supplies and postage. Keep: receipts.
- Software and subscriptions used to run the business. Keep: the invoice or account billing page plus the card statement.
- Phone and internet, business share. Keep: the bills and a note of how you worked out the business percentage. The base charge for the first landline into a home is personal under Publication 587.
- Bank and merchant fees on business accounts. Keep: the account statements.
- Advertising and marketing. Keep: invoices and ad-platform billing records.
- Business licenses, permits and business taxes. Keep: the license and payment record.
- Business insurance (liability, property, malpractice). Keep: the policy declarations page and payment records.
- Interest on business loans and cards. Keep: the lender's year-end or monthly statements.
What people costs should I check?
If anyone besides you worked for the business, the records here are also filing obligations.
- Contract labor. Keep: invoices, a Form W-9 from each contractor, and copies of the Forms 1099-NEC you filed. For payments made after December 31, 2025, a 1099-NEC is generally required when you paid a non-employee $2,000 or more for services (it was $600 for 2025). Payments to most corporations, and payments made by card or payment app, are generally excluded.
- Wages and payroll taxes. Keep: payroll reports and Forms W-2. The employer share of Social Security and Medicare you paid is generally deductible; your own salary as a sole proprietor is not.
- Employee benefits and retirement plan contributions for employees. Keep: plan statements.
- Legal and accounting fees for the business. Keep: invoices.
- Commissions and fees paid to others. Keep: statements or invoices.
What travel, vehicle and meal costs should I check?
These need the most detail, because Publication 463 asks for the date, place and business purpose, not just the amount.
- Business travel (airfare, lodging, rental cars) away from your tax home. Keep: receipts, the dates you left and returned, and the business purpose.
- Vehicle use. Keep: a mileage log showing date, business miles, destination and purpose, plus total miles for the year. For 2026, split your miles at July 1: the rate is 72.5¢ through June 30 and 76¢ from July 1.
- Business meals with clients or while traveling. Keep: the restaurant receipt (name and location, number of people, date and amount) and a note of who attended and why. Generally only 50% is deductible.
- Business gifts. Keep: receipt and recipient. The limit is $25 per person per year.
- Parking and tolls on business trips. Keep: receipts or the toll account statement.
What owner-level items should I check?
These usually go on your personal return rather than Schedule C, so flag them separately for your CPA.
- Self-employed health insurance premiums. Keep: premium statements.
- Retirement contributions for yourself (SEP, SIMPLE or other plans). Keep: contribution confirmations.
- Estimated tax payments. Keep: confirmations with dates and amounts. These are payments, not deductions, but your CPA needs them.
Do LLCs, partnerships and S corporations use a different checklist?
The deduction rules are mostly the same, but the return and the deadline differ. Publication 334 says a single-member LLC is generally disregarded for income tax and reports on its owner's Schedule C, unless it elected to be treated as a corporation. A business that files its own return claims the deductions there.
| How the business files | Return | 2027 due date for tax year 2026 | Extended due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sole proprietor or single-member LLC | Form 1040 with Schedule C | Thu Apr 15, 2027 | Fri Oct 15, 2027 (Form 4868) |
| Partnership | Form 1065 | Mon Mar 15, 2027 | Wed Sep 15, 2027 (Form 7004) |
| S corporation | Form 1120-S | Mon Mar 15, 2027 | Wed Sep 15, 2027 (Form 7004) |
| C corporation (calendar year) | Form 1120 | Thu Apr 15, 2027 | Fri Oct 15, 2027 |
These dates are derived from the Publication 509 rules; the IRS has not yet published a 2027 calendar. An extension gives you more time to file, not to pay. If you're unsure which return your business files, that's the first question for your CPA.
Example: working through the checklist
Example (fictional numbers): Dana runs a one-person home-cleaning business as a single-member LLC, so she files Schedule C. In January 2027 she goes down the list:
| Category ticked | Total for 2026 | Record she has |
|---|---|---|
| Supplies | $3,140 | Card statements and most receipts |
| Business insurance | $1,260 | Policy and payments |
| Vehicle | 6,000 miles Jan to Jun, 7,000 miles Jul to Dec | Mileage app export |
| Contract labor | $4,800 paid to one helper | Invoices and a W-9 |
| Phone, business share | $540 | Bills and her percentage note |
| Health insurance premiums | $5,400 | Premium statements |
Her mileage works out to 6,000 × $0.725 = $4,350 plus 7,000 × $0.76 = $5,320, or $9,670 at the standard rate. Ticking "contract labor" also reminds her that, because she paid her helper (an individual) $4,800 by bank transfer, over the $2,000 threshold, she likely owed a 1099-NEC; for tax year 2026 forms that was due February 1, 2027. Health insurance goes in the owner-level pile for Schedule 1. She brings the list and the records to her CPA, who decides what applies.
What should I do with the finished checklist?
Hand it to your preparer with the records behind it, sorted by category. The small business tax prep checklist covers the income documents and prior-year paperwork your CPA will also ask for, and Schedule C expense categories shows which line each item usually lands on. Keep the records afterwards; how long to keep receipts explains the IRS retention periods, generally at least three years.
Where Amy fits
The checklist is the easy part; finding the record behind each line is where the time goes. Amy finds the likely business expenses in the records you already have, including the ones that are easy to miss, and tells you what's still missing. Your CPA sees the source behind every line.
