# Mileage Question



## hunt4duck (Feb 16, 2020)

So as an IC working for Uber I often drive 10 miles before turning on Uber to accept rides. I live in an area where if I start at home I get piddly rides for 2 miles, then sit and wait and it's often not worth the time. I prefer to just get to where I can actually make money. Can I expense the miles I log prior to going online? Same thing for coming home. Lots of times I set destination to be home at 7:00 but it takes me too far away to be home by 7 so I shut down and drive extra miles home. Can these be expensed as well?


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

hunt4duck said:


> So as an IC working for Uber I often drive 10 miles before turning on Uber to accept rides. I live in an area where if I start at home I get piddly rides for 2 miles, then sit and wait and it's often not worth the time. I prefer to just get to where I can actually make money. Can I expense the miles I log prior to going online? Same thing for coming home. Lots of times I set destination to be home at 7:00 but it takes me too far away to be home by 7 so I shut down and drive extra miles home. Can these be expensed as well?


The IRS considers those miles to be commuting, just like the non-deductible mileage people have driving to and from a regular job at a fixed location.


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## JaxUberLyft (Jan 9, 2019)

I agree with interpreting those as commuting miles.


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## kingcorey321 (May 20, 2018)

question to you . Your driving your car to get business ? The miles you drove to get business is business related .
So was that a person commute ? or a business decision ? If its a business decision to drive to a busy area then clam the miles as business miles also called dead miles . a commuting miles is from your home to the place of business or from business back home .
Talk to your tax pro . I claim double the miles i drove then the money i earned . will say 20000 dollars ok ill file 40000 miles what my tax pro does . I Ow zero back taxes ... Or clear your trip log set it to zero claim every mile uber related .


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Older Chauffeur said:


> The IRS considers those miles to be commuting, just like the non-deductible mileage people have driving to and from a regular job at a fixed location.


So turn your APP. on as soon as you get into your car !
Don't turn it off untill you pull key out of the ignition.


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

kingcorey321 said:


> question to you . Your driving your car to get business ? The miles you drove to get business is business related .
> So was that a person commute ? or a business decision ? If its a business decision to drive to a busy area then clam the miles as business miles also called dead miles . a commuting miles is from your home to the place of business or from business back home .
> Talk to your tax pro . I claim double the miles i drove then the money i earned . will say 20000 dollars ok ill file 40000 miles what my tax pro does . I Ow zero back taxes ... Or clear your trip log set it to zero claim every mile uber related .


So what sort of contemporaneous mileage log do you keep? The IRS requires odometer readings, not resettable trip readings. When I used a CPA to prepare my returns he told me a written log was necessary to back up my business mileage claim. I have logs dating from 2002. Since that time a number of trip log apps have become available. I haven't seen any reports of how the IRS feels about those.


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## Cold Fusion (Aug 28, 2019)

JaxUberLyft said:


> I agree with interpreting those as commuting miles.


Yes yes, I concur, commuting miles &#129315;&#128514;&#128517;


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## [email protected] (Feb 10, 2020)

My understanding is that the app must be on and you must be available for rides for it to be deductible. You can deduct miles as a business expense to/from a defined location (like an office), but rideshare doesn't have defined locations where you start. You should talk to a tax professional about this and whether they'd be willing to defend the tax position. Bottom line: if you are found to fraudulently deduct extra miles, the penalty is way worse than the taxes you saved by deducting them in the first place.


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## hunt4duck (Feb 16, 2020)

It's a tricky line......say you have a rental home and you are driving back and forth to make improvements while it is vacant. Those miles are tax deductible expenses. My point is that my income is dependent upon getting away from a particularly unproductive area. Yes, I could turn it on right away but then I may get pulled the opposite direction, usually a long pickup to take someone a few miles and I have wasted at least 30 minutes for $5. That's my point of getting away first. With a 'regular' salary job, I get that it is a commute but being an IC IMO makes this different. Can a contracting painter or plumber deduct their miles to get to job sites as a business expense? I will discuss with a tax person though. Was just curious of opinions here.


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## [email protected] (Feb 10, 2020)

hunt4duck said:


> It's a tricky line......say you have a rental home and you are driving back and forth to make improvements while it is vacant. Those miles are tax deductible expenses. My point is that my income is dependent upon getting away from a particularly unproductive area. Yes, I could turn it on right away but then I may get pulled the opposite direction, usually a long pickup to take someone a few miles and I have wasted at least 30 minutes for $5. That's my point of getting away first. With a 'regular' salary job, I get that it is a commute but being an IC IMO makes this different. Can a contracting painter or plumber deduct their miles to get to job sites as a business expense? I will discuss with a tax person though. Was just curious of opinions here.


A painter or plumber could deduct all the miles because they are going somewhere specific. Usually, but not always, they also have a vehicle specific to the business where they can deduct 100% of everything.

The issue with deducting these additional miles when you're not logged on may put you in a net loss position (and avoid paying taxes). If that happens too many years in a row, the likelihood of being audited will increase and you'll need to prove the miles. I don't know if they'd request documentation from Uber/Lyft, but they potentially could. 20 miles a day doesn't sound like much, but it adds up at the end of the year. Definitely consult a tax professional - it's best not to take this type of advice from the peanut gallery either way. &#128513;


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## 5☆OG (Jun 30, 2019)

I dont agree that those are commuting miles. I write off all expenses that are associated with work. Im sure some will disagree. I have a 35 year track record as an IC,i have never been audited.


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## forqalso (Jun 1, 2015)

The IRS defines your commute as “transportation between your home and your main or regular place of work.” Your “home” is the place where you reside and unless you drive to the exact same spot daily to turn on your app, I would say you have no commuting miles. Going to the same city every day isn’t the same as going to the same place. You are strategically positioning for greater profit, not commuting.


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## kingcorey321 (May 20, 2018)

irs has bigger fish to fry then some nobody uber drive that earns less then 50k a year lol.


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)




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## [email protected] (Feb 10, 2020)

Daisey77 said:


> View attachment 417279
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I interpret that as the app should be on, but I'm not a tax professional, though! &#129488;


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

[email protected] said:


> I interpret that as the app should be on, but I'm not a tax professional, though! &#129488;


What part exactly makes you interpret it as the app should be on?

I've always used that rule for myself. App on = deductible miles; App off= non deductible


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## [email protected] (Feb 10, 2020)

Daisey77 said:


> What part exactly makes you interpret it as the app should be on?
> 
> I've always used that rule for myself. App on = deductible miles; App off= non deductible


It says you can deduct your miles as soon as you leave your driveway/parking spot to "start driving for Uber". I interpret that as being online because as far as Uber is concerned, you're not driving for them until you're available to accept pings. Now, this is my interpretation of an interpretation of the code...so, not sure how much that's worth. &#128513;

There are a few things that would lead me to be more conservative myself:

- Mixed use vehicle; are you showing any non-deductible miles on your odometer for the year? Are the amount of non-deductible miles reasonable?
- Are you in a net negative position by deducting these extra miles on your taxes? After a few years, driving for RS *may* not qualify as a business and become a "hobby" in which case one's tax position changes.

Years ago, Uber didn't track (at least they didn't share with us) our total online miles. Now that they share it with us, they could easily share that tax summary with the IRS or the IRS could ask for it in an audit, knowing it exists.

I'm in a bit of a different position than most drivers in that I'm a CPA (I don't do tax), and anything that could be construed as tax fraud could put my license and livelihood at risk. I still say that if your tax professional will stand behind deducting offline miles, then by all means, people should do it!

*DISCLAIMER: I'm not a tax professional and nothing I say should be considered actual tax advice.


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

I saw that on one of the pictures I posted. I usually always have my app on. Now I might just have one of my premium platforms on. so the chance of getting a request is less likely or I might have my destination filter set to like Alaska to minimize getting a request 😅 or I might even just decline a request if it comes in but my app is usually on


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

Daisey77 said:


> View attachment 417279
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What's the source and date of publication for this material? I think Uber announced a year or so ago that they were tracking all your online miles. The safest method is tracking and recording a contemporaneous mileage log, either manually or with an app separate from U/L, in case for some reason you are unable to access their system.


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

I don't know I just Googled what miles are deductible for Uber drivers LOL I keep track of my own miles because I don't necessarily trust that Uber or Lyft miles are correct🤷🏼 also there are other miles that are considered deductible that they don't keep track of. Such as if you dropped off a passenger and went offline to head back to specific event like a concert or sporting event ETC


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## 5☆OG (Jun 30, 2019)

with all the dead miles we drive for this shit company or miles i spend to get into position. i am writing them off ...the end..its not rocket science and we arent a fortune 500 company...keep it simple


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## [email protected] (Feb 10, 2020)

Daisey77 said:


> I don't know I just Googled what miles are deductible for Uber drivers LOL I keep track of my own miles because I don't necessarily trust that Uber or Lyft miles are correct&#129335;&#127996; also there are other miles that are considered deductible that they don't keep track of. Such as if you dropped off a passenger and went offline to head back to specific event like a concert or sporting event ETC


At least it wasn't Wikipedia... &#129315;


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

[email protected] said:


> At least it wasn't Wikipedia... &#129315;


They were all from tax companies LOL it's funny cuz the tax companies can't even agree on what's deductible and what's not. I'm not worried because I owe every goddamn year and from talking to other drivers, I apparently am the only one. so I feel like I'm in a pretty safe position . . . as far as getting audited LOL


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## [email protected] (Feb 10, 2020)

Daisey77 said:


> They were all from tax companies LOL it's funny cuz the tax companies can't even agree on what's deductible and what's not. I'm not worried because I owe every goddamn year and from talking to other drivers, I apparently am the only one. so I feel like I'm in a pretty safe position . . . as far as getting audited LOL


Yep...they don't always agree! That's why I keep saying if your tax professional will back you up - as long as you're honest with them, if they are wrong, that's on them, not you. You'll still have to pay back taxes if the IRS disagrees, but you probably won't be charged with fraud (assuming "good faith") and only might be charged a penalty. &#128513;

You're either doing it wrong, or doing it right. &#129315; If you're making more per mile than other drivers, then you'll owe more, even if you deduct miles or expenses in the same manner. Maybe it just means you're baller? &#128521; You also said you pick up premium/XL rides, which in itself means you're getting paid more per mile than non-premium drivers.


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

[email protected] said:


> Yep...they don't ask agree! That's why I keep saying if your tax professional will back you up - as long as you're honest with them, if they are wrong, that's on them, not you. You'll still have to pay back taxes if the IRS disagrees, but you probably won't be charged with fraud (assuming "good faith") and only might be charged a penalty. &#128513;
> 
> You're either doing it wrong, or doing it right. &#129315; If you're making more per mile than other drivers, then you'll owe more, even if you deduct miles or expenses in the same manner. Maybe it just means you're baller? &#128521; You also said you pick up premium/XL rides, which in itself means you're getting paid more per mile than non-premium drivers.


Yeah I typically only run XL and select. Unless it's been a slow night and there's a "high" surge in place.


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## hunt4duck (Feb 16, 2020)

We all have concerns and an interest in deducting as much as we can because Uber does not charge PAX enough nor do they pay drivers enough for rides and of course everyone looks for all the deductions they can take. I've heard so many drivers say they make $25-$30/hr and they don't. Everyone understands gas expense, but depreciation expense is a lot, especially on nicer, newer vehicles. I try to think of not how much I make an hour but how much I make a mile. I don't believe I am commuting to work, it's all subjective, I am making a business decision to get to an area where I can be most productive. If I did not make that decision my $$ per mile would be much less, therefore IMO those are extra miles to benefit my business.

Say you are in the peanut business. LOL. If you could sell peanuts at your neighborhood ball park where 12 year olds play and make $50 a game, or travel 25 miles to a college game and make $500, would those 50 miles round trip be deductible? I think so.


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