Mileage write off?

Question

The company I started working for says I can write off 48.5 cents per mile.I have seen several quit within a month and wonder if its true if the vehicle I drive is also my personal vehicle.I keep a log of all miles driven for work including from home to and from work.Is it true?Or maybe I`m being scammed.The pay is barely enough to get by with.I live in Florida if that makes any difference.Thanks

I drive between 4-500 miles for the job per weekand 200 to and from work.Im paid 11.88 hr and work an average of 36 hrs a week.Some weeks the gas costs 100bucks and the check is usually about 424.Does this help?I have a bad back and cant do much.I will be given a 1099 at yrs end.Thanks everyone!

Answer 1

If you itemized your deductions and kept record of the mileage this is taken as a Misc deduction on the Schedule A. it is subject to a 2% reduction of your adjusted gross income. If you take the Standard deduction you would not be able to claim the mileage as a deduction

Publication 529
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p529/index.html


Update

If you are considered a contract employee /self employed then the mileage could be a business expense, you mention 48.5 which is the rate for 2007. it is 44.5 for 2006
The information on travel expenses see pub 463
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p463/index.html

if this is just commuting expenses and you are reimbursed you can not deduct the mileage

Answer 2

The others are correct, but more clearly maybe: You can only deduct driving expenses if they are a part of work. That means that you are delivering bread to bakeries or you are a private detective who follows people a lot. And other, legitimate things. A courier who transports legal papers for a living. You cannot deduct your commute from home to work at all, no matter what. I'll add that this is one of the things the IRS looks very closely at. If it's not legitimate, don't risk it.

Answer 3

The milegae you can deduct (if it benefits you) is 44.5 cents per mile. However, miles you drive to the office and home from the office are not included. You can only deduct miles you drive from the office to another jobsite or office and the miles you drive back to the original office. For example, if you go to the office, then to a job site, then to another job site and then back home, you could potentially deduct the miles from the office to jobsite one and the miles to jobsite two. Not the miles to the office or miles to your home. If you had went from job site two back to the office, those in between miles would be included as well. Also, you get to deduct a percentage of the value of these miles, but more than likely not the whole amount. It also has to be more than 2% of your AGI.

Answer 4

I drive a company vehicle for work and 100% commission. I pay for the gas myself. Can I deduct my mileage if I am paying for the gas?

Answer 5

It's 44.5 cents a mile, not 48.5 cents, and you can take it subject to certain limits if you are not reimbursed for it. To take it, you'd have to itemize though, and unless you have other deductible expenses would probably not have enough to itemize.

You can write off the miles you drive for your job, but not your mileage back and forth from your home to work - that part is not deductible.

Answer 6

do you use your car for work? the standard federal mileage rate is .445 cents per business mile for 2006 (.485 for 2007). you can claim the business use of your auto if you are not reimbursed by your employer. you would multiply your business miles by .445 to come up with your total business auto usage amount. this .445 includes gas, repairs, insurance, etc. however, you would only benefit from this if you itemize deductions on Schedule A of Form 1040. this amount must exceed 2% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) in order for it to be deductible. only the amount above the 2% threshold is deductible.

by the way, mileage for commuting to and from work does not count as "business" miles. so the 400 miles driven to and from work are not included.

Answer 7

If you are actually using the vehicle for your job, then you may be entitled to take a mileage deduction. Make sure you have detailed records to back up any deductions.

However, driving to and from your job does not count so you can't deduct those miles.

Answer 8

You may actually be able to get more than that if you do deliveries, or use your car for work.

I would suggest keeping all gas receipts and a good log of your mileage and gas costs this year and getting your taxes done by a professional.

There are tons of things you can write off and most people don't know about them. College students in the visual arts can write off movie rentals, people who wear uniforms can write those off, getting your taxes done by a professional or reading up on these things yourself are the only way you can find out about them.