Tax deduction for mileage/commuting mileage

[Camella Black]

I have done our taxes since 1980 or so. I have taken tax classes and worked for a large tax company and have never taken a deduction for mileage except from home to the work site. However a question was posed to me recently about why we could not deduct the mileage from the hotel/apartment to the site because of the following definition or explanation of commuting:

Commuting:  Generally, commuting  is travel between your home and a work location.  However, travel that meets any of the following conditions is not commuting.
• You have at least one regular work location away from your home and
the travel is to a temporary work location in the same trade or business, regardless of the distance.  Generally, a temporary work location is one where your employment is expected to last 1 year or less.

So, do you deduct for your commuting miles or not?

[SloGlo]

when i was roading as a hpt, i didn't deduct mileage.  since i didn't have a non-home job (like working at a local power plant as an utility employee or in an office of the employer) i didn't think that the job on the road fit the criteria for mileage deduction. 

[thenukeman]

I worked for one company that paid my mileage to the Job site and Back when out of town.  They also paid my mileage to and from work when out of town using my own vehicle.  No other company has done this for me.  10 miles a day does not add up to much though.  20 days at 42 cents a mile would only be 84 dollars, but I guess every bit helps.

[vikingfan]

if you average lets say 40 miles aday at the federal rate of 0.505 you come up with about 20$ a day add up real quick with an outage of lets say 20-30 days

[stownsend]

I deducted mileage for years. You have to keep a log book. Hotel to site/return. I know people who tracked mileage to the laundry,grocery store etc. I did the site and return with mine and my wife's and got to take about a 2k deduction. The one audit I went through they told me I was doing everything OK.

[Already Gone]

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p463/ch01.html#d0e640

This link explains it all in detail, but stownsend has it just about in a nutshell.  I have done the same over the past few years.  When you add this to the mileage that your employer only partly reimburses you for, it comes out to a nice sum to deduct. 

[alphadude]

as long as  i am away from my tax home on assignment i deduct. if i have to go to town for supplies i deduct.  havent had any problems in 20 years. also you have to look at the way this gets reported. mileage is not a line item that is submitted to the IRS. its submitted under business expenses uncompensated. if your list contractor on you employment it helps.

[SloGlo]

I deducted mileage for years. You have to keep a log book. Hotel to site/return. I know people who tracked mileage to the laundry,grocery store etc. I did the site and return with mine and my wife's and got to take about a 2k deduction. The one audit I went through they told me I was doing everything OK.

doncha gotta right dis against yer diem?

[Already Gone]

no
per diem is for meals and lodging only

[RADBASTARD]

you should put on the poll,who claims both on their taxes

[Rennhack]

no
per diem is for meals and lodging only

As always, Troy is 100% right.  I think I'll give him more karma, he deserves it.

[Marlin]

Per Diem does not show up in IRS rules it comes from the GSA and the IRS recognizes the rates and compensation. Here is the definition of Per Diem from the GSA:

Per diem allowance—The per diem allowance (also referred to as subsistence allowance) is a daily payment instead of reimbursement for actual expenses for lodging, meals, and related incidental expenses. The per diem allowance is separate from transportation expenses and other miscellaneous expenses. The per diem allowance covers all charges, including taxes and service charges where applicable for:

(a) Lodging. Includes expenses for overnight sleeping facilities, baths, personal use of the room during daytime, telephone access fee, and service charges for fans, air conditioners, heaters and fires furnished in the room when such charges are not included in the room rate. Lodging does not include accommodations on airplanes, trains, buses, or ships. Such cost is included in the transportation cost and is not considered a lodging expense.

(b) Meals. Expenses for breakfast, lunch, dinner and related tips and taxes (specifically excluded are alcoholic beverage and entertainment expenses, and any expenses incurred for other persons).

(c) Incidental expenses.

(1) Fees and tips given to porters, baggage carriers, bellhops, hotel maids, stewards or stewardesses and others on ships, and hotel servants in foreign countries;

(2) Transportation between places of lodging or business and places where meals are taken, if suitable meals can be obtained at the TDY site; and

(3) Mailing cost associated with filing travel vouchers and payment of Government sponsored charge card billings.

[SloGlo]

The per diem allowance covers all charges, including taxes and service charges where applicable for:


(2) Transportation between places of lodging or business and places where meals are taken, if suitable meals can be obtained at the TDY site; and

(

datz watt aye wuz tawkin about.

[Lorrie Henson]

Camella...  Thank you for putting this question out here for everyone to chime in on...  I think I have the answers I need now and was correct in my orginal thinking.

I do have another question for anyone that knows.... I also think I know the answer to this one, but just want to make sure....

If you are working at a plant within 50 miles of your home and not receiving per diem, do you get to claim the mileage to/from the site?

Thanks!!

Lorrie

[Already Gone]

No.  Commuting from your home to your job is not deductible.  However, if you have another job (including a business, like a family farm that operates for profit) near your home, and go straight from there to the plant, that mileage is deductible.  If you go straight home afterwards, that mileage is NOT deductible.

This sounds silly, but if you feed the chickens, drive to work, drive back and fix a fence, all your mileage is deductible - as long as the business is run for profit.  Farming for your own use doesn't count.  So, grow some extra corn to sell by the roadside, sell some of the eggs, bake some pies to sell at the farmers' market.

[Lorrie Henson]

Thanks BC.. LOVE the analogy!! LOL.... I was referring to Jim driving from home to DC Cook LOL!!  But, you answered my question and it's what I figured it would be.. THANK YOU!!

One more question for ya.. again, I think I know the answer, but just wanna make sure... as I'll probably start doing our taxes this afternoon since all the W-2s and 1099s came yesterday....

We have a CD in our son's name... he's 3 yrs old and I received a 1099 with his interest on it... since it's in his name/ssn.. do we claim it on our taxes?

Thanks for the help!! 

Lorrie 

[Already Gone]

It's a little involved, but the basics are:
If a child is under 18
AND
His investment income is less than $1700
THEN
He includes it in his own tax return (you include it for him if you do his taxes).

To determine whether he has to file a return, follow this link  http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96623,00.html

It runs you through a Q&A to determine whether he needs to file.  An older kid might have to file a return because he may have earned income (from mowing lawns or selling newspapers, or working at McD's) as well as unearned income.  A three-year-old probably has no earned income, though.  So, in this case, as long as the unearned income is <$850, he wouldn't have to file.  If it is >$850 but <$1700, you'd file a separate return for the child and pay tax at his rate.
 
If his investment income is over $1700, you have to include it in the parents' return and pay taxes at your rate on it - even if the child is required to file his own return.

Sounds too tortuous for reason, but there is a reason.  Kids who earn a lot of interest are actually sometimes holding accounts for their parents.  In other words, parents put money in the kids' names to pay lower taxes on it.  Uncle Sammie has caught on to that.  So even if it is his own money, he'll pay taxes at the parents' rate if the income is over $1700.

But, your little one is probably safe from income taxes for a few more years.

[Lorrie Henson]

Thanks again BC!!!!  Yeah, I figured with it only being 30 some-odd dollars, I probably wouldn't have to worry about it... but I wanted to be sure!! LOL

OK, one more question and then I promise I'll leave ya alone.   I filed using Turbo Tax last year and I know I was able to file 4 states.  I have spent almost all day filling out Turbo Tax and it will only let me do 3 states.  Any idea why?  I'm not printing or e-filing anything until I can figure out how to get that fourth state in there... LOL

Thanks again!! YOU ROCK!! 

Lorrie 

[Already Gone]

Well, I'm guessing that you can only do 4 states because they are wanting you to pay more for more than that.  Maybe you should call them and ask for a deal.

[Already Gone]

datz watt aye wuz tawkin about.

Actually, the only transportation that is covered by per diem is the cost of going to get your meals.  Mileage to the work site and back is separate, but the cab fare to the Olde country Buffet is not.

[Lorrie Henson]

I found the information, just in case anyone else is in the same boat as us, where you're having to file more then 3 states.  If using Turbo Tax, you have to purchase and download Turbo Tax Desktop Edition.  This is what I had to do last year, after inputting all of my information into the Online Edition... and what I'll probably have to do again this year.  Hopefully, I've learned my lesson LOL.. as it's not fun having to do double work with these taxes, especially with two little ones running around LOL!!

Thanks again for everyone's help!!

Lorrie 

[Escape314]

I have a question regarding travel pay. I live 1100 miles from home and work only pays up to $350. This amounts to about $150 lost each coming in to work and leaving work. I've been told I can deduct this on some form with the IRS. Which form would I submit this on?
The next thing is, sometimes I work outages nearly back to back and the employer pays the mileage i/o and I end up with $700 for traveling home from plant A and back to a plant B that is only 100 miles from plant A completing this theoretical circuit in less than a week. Do we need proof of travel or is it assumed by the IRS that we went home and then back if the employer pays us the travel (up to the limit) to home on to Plant B?

[Already Gone]

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p463/index.html

Start here.

You don't deduct mileage for single trips or assignments.  Instead, you add up all the business miles you put on your car, then you subtract all the mileage allowance that you were paid by your employer.  What is left over is an unreimbursed employee business expense, which you would report on Form 2106 and on Schedule A of form 1040.  Unreimbursed Employee Business Expenses are subject to the 2% of AGI threshold - which means that you have to itemize your deductions, and you can only deduct the amount of expenses that are greater than 2% of your Adjusted Gross Income.

Here are the instructions for Form 2106   http://www.irs.gov/instructions/i2106/index.html

[RADBASTARD]

BEERCOURT Man you have it all down.

I'm going to have to get you to do my taxes when I go to HR block.

You have some great tips

[Already Gone]

Sorry RB.  I don't do them for money anymore.  I wouldn't use one of those storefront places either.  I used to run one.  They suck.  Seriously, get TurboTax or Taxcut, or some other good software.  Then, maybe take a course on tax prep, but the best thing is to learn how to do your own taxes.  That way, you don't have to trust anybody's knowledge but your own when it comes to your relationship with the IRS.