Tax deductions for independent car dealers, in plain language.

What is in the checklist?

Questions, not tax code. Each line asks whether you paid for something — an office, a phone, a licence, a meal with a client — and tells you what counts, what only counts partly, and what to watch. Where the arithmetic is simple, the sheet does it. Where it is not, such as equipment, mileage and the home office, you enter what you paid, and the sheet tells you to ask about the specifics, because the answer depends on your circumstances.

Three tabs: the checklist itself, the things people assume count and do not, and the records to keep so that every line survives a question from a tax agency.

What do independent and used car dealers routinely miss?

• Reconditioning paid in cash. Detailers and mobile mechanics paid at the lot, with nothing tied to the car.
• Auction and transport fees. Left out of the car's cost, which overstates profit on every unit.
• Goodwill repairs after the sale. No invoice to the customer, so no record at all.
• Stale inventory. Cars worth less than their cost, carried at full cost year after year.

None of these is exotic. They are missed because they are paid once a year, or land on the personal return instead of the business, or feel too close to personal life to claim. The checklist asks about each one directly.