# Mileage and expenses



## speedracer (Oct 10, 2015)

so i plan to use the standard mileage deduction

i get a carwash every week which is about 5-10$

would i be able to claim the car wash along with the .57 cents or is it one or the other?

also should i be tracking how much i make before uber takes their cut for reporting
or use the number that hits my bank account?


----------



## Old Rocker (Aug 20, 2015)

I'm going to claim car washes as an expense in addition to the 57.5 cents per mile standard mileage deduction. The IRS might not allow it, but should that happen you can send an appeal explaining it in more detail. If they don't allow it, you'll have to pay taxes on it and interest, which shouldn't be a whole lot. They won't be sending a goon squad to confiscate your worldly possessions.

No need to track your fares, just report what is sent to you on the 1099-MISC. Although on 12/31/15, it might not be a bad idea to screen capture or print your trip logs list and pay statements from the partner site.

Note, I've read that some people claim the SRF as an expense. I have no idea how that's done.

I am not a professional tax expert.


----------



## Casuale Haberdasher (Dec 7, 2014)

speedracer said:


> so i plan to use the standard mileage deduction
> 
> i get a carwash every week which is about 5-10$
> 
> ...


POST # 1/speedracer: FIRST: Contact UberTaxPro .

SECOND: A little "housekeeping".

"Carefully REread your Parnership
Agreement. NEW DRIVERS have only
30 Days to Opt-Out of Binding Arbitration."

https://uberpeople.net/posts/402925

This has been a Driver Service ALERT
courtesy if These Longstanding Notables:
chi1cabby ... & ...
Casuale Haberdasher


----------



## opie (Oct 12, 2015)

According to IRS Publication 463:



> If you use the standard mileage rate for a year, you cannot deduct your actual car expenses for that year. You cannot deduct depreciation, lease payments, maintenance and repairs, gasoline (including gasoline taxes), oil, insurance, or vehicle registration fees.


Car washes are considered "maintenance."


----------



## cheerose (Aug 29, 2014)

One other rule to note:

If you want to use the standard mileage rate, you must use it in the first year that the car is available for your business. In subsequent years, you can choose between the mileage rate & actual expenses. 

If you use actual expenses for that first available year, you cannot use the standard mileage rate in the future.


----------



## Old Rocker (Aug 20, 2015)

opie said:


> According to IRS Publication 463:
> 
> Car washes are considered "maintenance."


Do they actually state car washes are maintenance?


----------



## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

speedracer said:


> so i plan to use the standard mileage deduction
> 
> i get a carwash every week which is about 5-10$
> 
> ...


In addition to the .57 cents you can deduct parking fees, tolls, interest and taxes as expenses related to your car. No car washes. You should always keep your own books but Uber does do a good job of keeping everything you need from them for tax purposes available to you.


----------



## opie (Oct 12, 2015)

Actually, in trying to research car washes, I'm finding multiple conflicting answers. In general, if a rule is not clear, the IRS is always going to rule in their own favor (i.e. if it looks like income and is not explicitly excluded, then they are going to treat it as income; if it looks like an expense, and is not explicitly included, then they are _*not *_going to treat it as an expense).


----------



## StarzykCPA (Aug 6, 2015)

opie said:


> Actually, in trying to research car washes, I'm finding multiple conflicting answers. In general, if a rule is not clear, the IRS is always going to rule in their own favor (i.e. if it looks like income and is not explicitly excluded, then they are going to treat it as income; if it looks like an expense, and is not explicitly included, then they are _*not *_going to treat it as an expense).


Yes car washes are a gray area, unfortunately.

Another option: take only the car washes that you do in excess of your regular amount. For example, if you normally wash your car every month (once every 4 weeks), then with Uber you are washing it every week... deduct 3/4 of your total car washes.


----------



## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

cheerose said:


> If you want to use the standard mileage rate, you must use it in the first year that the car is available for your business. In subsequent years, you can choose between the mileage rate & actual expenses.
> .


are you sure about this, I thought this was only for LEASED vehicles??


----------



## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

Bart McCoy said:


> are you sure about this, I thought this was only for LEASED vehicles??


It's correct, not just for leased vehicles. If you want to use the standard mileage rate for a car you own, you must choose to use it in the first year the car is available for use in your business. Then, in later years, you can choose to use either the standard mileage rate or actual expenses. If you want to use the standard mileage rate for a car you lease, you must use it for the entire lease period. For leases that began on or before December 31, 1997, the standard mileage rate must be used for the entire portion of the lease period (including renewals) that is after 1997.


----------



## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

UberTaxPro said:


> It's correct, not just for leased vehicles. If you want to use the standard mileage rate for a car you own, you must choose to use it in the first year the car is available for use in your business..


can you link me to some documentation that says this? where its for both leased and non leased


----------



## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

Bart McCoy said:


> can you link me to some documentation that says this? where its for both leased and non leased


https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p463.pdf 
page 16


----------



## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

UberTaxPro said:


> https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p463.pdf
> page 16


Okay, but after that you can change it and do either or



> If you want to use the standard mileage rate for a car
> you own, you must choose to use it in the first
> year the car is available for use in your busi-
> ness. Then, in later years, you can choose to
> use either the standard mileage rate or actual expenses


----------



## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

Bart McCoy said:


> Okay, but after that you can change it and do either or
> 
> However whats the definition of year? say you bought your car in December,only 30days of calendar use. That still counts as "first year available" ?


Definition of "tax year".....you can use a calendar year that starts on Jan 1 and ends on Dec. 31 or use a fiscal year that generally is 12 consecutive months ending on the last day of any month except December(there is some variations like a 52/53 week tax year). Even if you bought or leased the car on December 31 and used it only that day (and you use the calendar tax year) your choice for actual expenses or mileage would have to be made by the due date of the tax return including extensions.


----------



## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

UberTaxPro said:


> Definition of "tax year".....you can use a calendar year that starts on Jan 1 and ends on Dec. 31 or use a fiscal year that generally is 12 consecutive months ending on the last day of any month except December(there is some variations like a 52/53 week tax year). Even if you bought or leased the car on December 31 and used it only that day (and you use the calendar tax year) your choice for actual expenses or mileage would have to be made by the due date of the tax return including extensions.


gotcha


----------

