Tax deductions for contractors and trades businesses, 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 general contractors, subcontractors and trades businesses routinely miss?

• Small tools and consumables. Blades, bits and hand tools bought at the counter on a personal card.
• Dump and disposal fees. Paid in cash at the gate, no invoice, never recorded.
• Warranty and callback work. Real cost, no revenue attached, so nobody writes it down.
• The timing of a truck or equipment purchase. A machine put to work on December 28 and one put to work on January 3 land in different years.

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.