Mileage Deduction

[drshg]

All my work is as a 1099 independent contractor. Can I deduct the travel from my home to my work? Is my home considered my "office" (because I certainly spend some time at home dealing with being a 1099 and owning my business) and therefore it is considered like I am traveling from one work office to another? Or does the IRS consider my home as my home and not as my business office in this regard. Thanks in advance.

[MaxPower]

I am about to be in the same situation and met with my CPA this week. He said I should have a home office where I will do some work related to my job (I will) and so traveling to hospital or wherever would be deductible. The trick is keeping track of all of your miles accurately.

[Tim]

The trick is that home office is only a home office.
Can’t use that room for anything else.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/how-small-business-owners-can-deduct-their-home-office-from-their-taxes

Home office is a can of worms if you’re just trying for “commuting mileage” deduction. Ask your CPA about basis adjustment when you sell your house and you never took the deduction.

You need a CPA that tells you what you need to know, not just answers questions for deductions.

[jfoxcpacfp]

Basis adjustment is irrelevant. You will get the deduction now and recoup later or bypass it and maybe miss out on a deduction. The real question is whether you do most of your work at one location. If so, traveling there and back is in the nature of commuting and I would not recommend taking the mileage deduction. If you work at multiple hospitals/practices and handle administration from your HO, mileage is deductible. Whether it qualifies as a HO depends on if you use it exclusively for work-related activities (even if not practicing medicine) and nothing else.

[8arclay]

Related question regarding this:

I have 1099 and W2 work. All of my commuting is W2 related, however I go to three different offices throughout the week (a different one each day, never more than one in a single day). I assume because its all related to the W2 job I cant deduct, correct?

[spiritrider]

Correct, the unreimbursed business expenses deduction was eliminated in the TCJA.

[FunkDoc83]

yeah unfortunately just driving from home to your primary practice site doesn't count for mileage deduction.

[jfoxcpacfp]

Related question regarding this:

I have 1099 and W2 work. All of my commuting is W2 related, however I go to three different offices throughout the week (a different one each day, never more than one in a single day). I assume because its all related to the W2 job I cant deduct, correct?

A way around this is to lobby for an “accountable plan” - you submit your mileage for reimbursement and the payments are deductible to the employer but nontaxable to you. You would need to establish a main workplace for commuting and submit the mileage to other hospitals beyond the original commute for reimbursement..

[zlandar]

My understanding:

1. You do not need to claim a home office deduction to make a part of your home an "official" home office.
2. If audited you need to show that you do a significant amount of business work at the location you designate as a home office. As a rad with a remote workstation that's pretty easy.
3. My group does have an accountable plan. It's a single page document that lays out the rules. It's limited to partners with ownership in the group and they have to submit an electronic log. The group reimburses them the business mileage and claims the expense on the corporate tax return.

[dennis]

Keeping the mileage log is easy and I've done it for 40yrs. Just get some mileage books at an Office Depot and write down the starting and ending odometer reading and the reason/location for the trip. Keep the book in the car center console or similar handy place. Add it up for each month and then total the months at the end of the year. Keep one book for each year then start over.

[TheTodd]

Piggybacking on this old topic with a question.

Im a W2 employee. As such I know I can’t deduct the mileage of my commute. I also take call at the hospital and frequently go back and forth in addition to my commute. I was told I can log and deduct the mileage for extra trips in to the hospital on call. Is this true?

[zlandar]

Piggybacking on this old topic with a question.

Im a W2 employee. As such I know I can’t deduct the mileage of my commute. I also take call at the hospital and frequently go back and forth in addition to my commute. I was told I can log and deduct the mileage for extra trips in to the hospital on call. Is this true?

On your taxes? No.

If your employer wants to reimburse you sure.