Tax deductions for sports and recreation facilities, 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 sports fields, gyms, courts and recreation businesses routinely miss?

• Maintenance against improvement. Resurfacing and replacement filed as maintenance, and the reverse.
• Officials paid in cash. Dozens of small payments a season, none recorded.
• Safety and screening costs. Background checks, training and first aid supplies.
• Registration money collected early. Next season's fees counted in this year's income.

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.