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Deducting vehicle mileage?

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NotSureWhatToDo

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? VA, but federal question

I am a consultant for a large consulting firm. My home office is about 20 miles roundtrip from my home. My latest consulting assignment is about 80 miles roundtrip to/from the client's facility. My firm does not reimburse me for commuting the extra 60 miles a day to/from the client's facility.

Can I deduct the 60 miles that I put on my personal vehicle each day when commuting to/from the client's facility?

Thank you.
 


tranquility

Senior Member
Since you have a regular place of business outside of the home, your mileage to a temporary work location is deductible. All of it, not just that in excess of the amount you would have normally. (Unless you stop by the office each morning.) Generally, a temporary work location is one you don't think will last or are not at more than a year.
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
Since you have a regular place of business outside of the home, your mileage to a temporary work location is deductible. All of it, not just that in excess of the amount you would have normally. (Unless you stop by the office each morning.) Generally, a temporary work location is one you don't think will last or are not at more than a year.
And my tax CPA says if you keep a daily (or whatever) log of your trips, the IRS will love it when they audit you.
 

NotSureWhatToDo

Junior Member
Thx for the responses, guys.

tranquility,

I will probably be where I'm at for about a year, but there is no definite end date as of now (my firm is currently working on renewing it's contract with the client). I started working at this facility in November '06. If I continue until the end of December '07, it will be longer than one year. Will that be a problem if it lasts that long? For all I know, however, I could be reassigned elsewhere next week.

And my tax CPA says if you keep a daily (or whatever) log of your trips, the IRS will love it when they audit you.
I have read that things like this are red flags for the IRS. At the same time, if I have a right to deduct the mileage, then I'm not worried about an audit.

To that end, what kind of log is required/recommended?

Should I start keeping track everyday by writing my exact mileage, or can I rely on something like Mapquest, which provides the distance, and then just multiply that by the number of days in the year that I drove to the client's facility? How much detail is needed for the IRS?

Thanks much, fellas!
 

tranquility

Senior Member
Anytime mileage is an issue, the IRS gets all tingly over a "contemporaneous written record".

As you your real question, yes it is a problem. It is no longer a temporary work location, but your work location. See Rev. Ru. 99-7 for a full discussion. Employmnet at a wrok location is not temporary, regardless of whether or not it lasts for more than one year, if it is realistically expected to last more than one year or there is no realistic expectation that employment will last for one year or less.

Read the ruling and decide if your facts make the location a temporary one or not.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
To that end, what kind of log is required/recommended?

Thanks much, fellas!
Go to Office Depot, Office Max, Stationers or whatever you have in your area. You can buy one for a few bucks. Once you see one it will be self explanatory. Keep it in the glove compartment of your car and fill in the appropriate blanks on a daily basis.
 

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