Tax deductions for farms and ranches, 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 farms, ranches and small agricultural operations routinely miss?

• The off-road fuel credit. Road tax paid on fuel that never touched a road, refundable, and left on the table year after year for want of a gallon count.
• The farm share of a shared bill. One meter, one insurance policy, one truck covering both the house and the farm, and no split ever made.
• Income averaging. Not a deduction, which is exactly why it gets missed, and worth more than any line on the checklist in a good year.
• Prepaid supplies, bought wrong. A December cheque written as a deposit rather than a purchase buys nothing at all, and nobody finds out until the return.

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.