What is the best tax deduction to take to reduce my taxes? This is the number one asked question of CPAs today. Businesses want to know how to ensure their tax burden is only as much as it has to be.

In a BLR webinar titled "Tax Savings for Small Businesses: How to Maximize Valuable Deductions and Avoid IRS Overpayments," Brian C. Greenberg, CPA, outlined some basics that answer this question.

One of the "basics" in running a business is bookkeeping. You need to organize your bookkeeping in order to track your expenses. This is the area where business owners lose the most in terms of legitimate tax deductions they could take; if they cannot track obligations and how money is spent, some deductions may be missed.

How should you track your business? Here are some options:

• Accounting software, such as QuickBooks (or other you chose)
• Credit cards (your card used exclusively for business can be a way to track expenses)
• Checking account (will work if you use it exclusively for business)
• Out of pocket reimbursement expenses – such as auto, food, travel, etc. – this is an area where people really lose deductions; it needs to be tracked carefully and the receipts kept (you can write a check to reimburse these expenses so that they are tracked in the checking like other expenses)

Brian C. Greenberg, CPA, is the founder of Brian C. Greenberg & Associates, LLC, a New Jersey-based tax accounting firm. (www.greenbergcpa.com) With 30 years of experience as an accountant, Greenberg has developed a diversified background to service his clients’ needs. Greenberg has extensive media experience both nationally and locally, commentating for the Wall Street Journal Report, Fox Business News, Bloomberg News, Forbes TV, and local TV in Philadelphia with ABC, NBC, and Fox. He has appeared as an analyst on the economy, stock market, taxes, budget issues, school issues, and more.

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