Photo via Pixabay

For small time businesses, even a small change in taxes and expenses can make or break its chances of survival.According to a survey conducted by personal finance expert Garrett Gunderson, about 93% of his small business-owner clients have overpaid their taxes for the past 12 years.In a business where every penny counts, here are some tax-saving tips you can do to avoid overpaying your taxes.

1.Keep your receipts.An efficient way of tracking your expenses is by keeping track of your receipts.These receipts can also be used to deduct certain items on your taxes.For example, if your business is a ride-sharing business, then you can use receipts from your car expenses and deduct them from your tax.

2.Pay for your retirement.Some business owners may not know this but if you are a self-employed worker, you can reduce your taxable income by paying for your retirement account early.According to entrepreneur.com, the money you put into your retirement fund is not taxable until you withdraw those funds.If you are under 50, you may put up to $5,500 to your retirement account while those over 50 can contribute a maximum $6,500 to their retirement fund.

3.Deduct your home office and car expenses.Using the actual expense method, you can reduce your taxes by deducting your home office use and car expenses when you file your tax.Deductions for your home office can include insurance, mortgages, repairs, and utilities, while deductions for your car expenses include gas, maintenance, mileage, insurance, and repairs.Just make sure to incorporate the percentage of your home office use, and your car business use when calculating for your deductions using the actual expense method.

4.Check for carryovers.Carryovers are some deductions or credits that you might not have used in the previous tax year but are still eligible to be deducted in the upcoming year.Carryovers may include capital losses, net operating losses, home office deductions, and charitable contribution deductions, among others, entrepreneur.com reported.