Successful small business owners must master operations, sales, customer service, marketing, human resources and accounting. They must also maintain accurate accounting books in order to maximize tax liabilities.

A receipt-scanning program like Shoeboxed helps quickly document and track tax-deducible expenses including:

– Travel expenses such as costs of plane tickets, taxis, lodging, meals and automobiles. Automobile costs can be tracked by multiplying mileage by the standard mileage rate or by claiming the business-related expenses for the vehicle. Standard mileage rates cannot be included on Forms 1065, 1120S and 1120. Mileage logs should include odometer readings, total miles driven, percent of mileage used for business, destination and purpose of the trip.

– Expenses for advertising, promotions, interest on borrowed money and bank fees.

– Legal and professional fees in the year incurred. If consultation relates to future years, the fees must be deducted over the life of the benefit.

– Miscellaneous expenses such as bad debts (goods sold, not services), customer gifts, business-related books, postage, seminars and trade shows and business association dues.

If job descriptions, time sheets and W-2s are on file, unincorporated small family businesses employing their children can enjoy several tax benefits:

– No Social Security or Medicare taxes are due. State unemployment and disability taxes are typically waived.

– Child labor restrictions generally do not apply.

– If children are paid less than the standard deduction, earned income is not taxed.

– Owners can use their children’s earned income to open Roth IRAs. Earnings are non-taxable, and withdrawals for college-related expenses or a down payment for first-time homeowners can be made without penalty.

Tax software can be used throughout the year to help owners understand how financial decisions affect their tax situations. By organizing early, owners can maximize deductions and save time when it’s time to submit their tax returns. Customers who pre-order TaxACT Preparer’s Business software can use preview versions as soon as they’re released in October. Final versions of TaxACT Preparer’s Business 1065, 1120 and 1120S are released in January.

Tax information for small businesses is available at www.IRS.gov, and TaxACT information can be found at www.TaxACT.com.

Talk about sweet justice. If you’ve ever thought you’re paying too much in taxes — ya think? — here’s your chance to maybe claw some of it back from the government.

Every year, the IRS bemoans how much money taxpayers needlessly wind up forfeiting to Uncle Sam — $1 billion is the latest approximate annual figure — because of costly mistakes made when filing or even failing to file returns. And every year, taxpayers make the same (or new) mistakes all over again.

Well, now through April 30, H&R Block (www.hrblock.com) is offering free “Second Look” reviews of 2008 to 2010 income tax returns not initially completed by the giant tax preparation firm itself. If its pros at participating offices discover pay dirt — and they say they “recovered” $100,000 in overlooked credits and deductions during a recent roll-out in Detroit — they’ll tell you and even file the necessary IRS paperwork themselves for a minimal fee.

The idea is to help people get back their own money, says Elaine Smith, master tax advisor at H&R Block. No matter the amount, they could use the extra cash these days.

Among the most common errors unearthed during Detroit’s Second Look:

₪ Missed education credits. Actually, it wasn’t always just a matter of some people not knowing about the still-available American Opportunity Credit ($2,500 for the first four years of college education for each student), the Lifetime Learning Credit (up to $2,000 per return for post-secondary degree programs) and the Tuition and Fees Deduction (a reduction in taxable income of up to $4,000). In the case of 24-year-old Russell Gismonde, for instance, the part-time student and restaurant manager wound up $1,135 richer after H&R Block figured out he was personally better off claiming the Hope Credit than the Lifetime Credit he’d originally checked. (You can only pick one of these.)
“My plan is to have my own business someday,” says a grateful Gismonde, who’d always done his own taxes. “Every penny helps.”

₪ Inaccurate filing status. Don’t snicker. Understanding the financial implications of “married filing jointly” vs. “married filing separate,” say, isn’t a Detroit-only problem. Merely switching from one to the other meant a $5,498 refund for one family.

₪ Overlooked Earned Income Tax Credit. It’s supposed to incentivize employment among low-income earners, but not everyone knew they were eligible for the potentially thousands of dollars in credits.

With this year’s April 17 filing deadline looming, it could make sense to have past returns scoured before risking a replay of past blunders. If it’s easier, the review is accessible online using the Block Live video conferencing tool. 

Read More: 3 Tips to Help Small Businesses Save at Tax Time