# 2017 Deductions Help?? Ubertaxpro



## ARTENNZ1967 (Dec 27, 2017)

2017 --- i drove for lyft and uber part-time - $25000
- i save all my receipts for expenses while driving
- i purchase a new prius last year as well for driving - what documents do i need to provide for deductions for the prius


-- i'm . a full time student, i saved my receipts for related expenses -- what other deductions could i claim as a student?

--i have stocks in the market,, made $20,000 profit.... short sale 
what deductions could i use for my stocks

--$15,000 wages from retail jobs 


this is not my first year filling taxes, but i have never made so much before, so i justr want to make sure i'm getting all the deductions, 
i checked and i'm in the 22% tax bracket


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## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

ARTENNZ1967 said:


> 2017 --- i drove for lyft and uber part-time - $25000
> - i save all my receipts for expenses while driving
> - i purchase a new prius last year as well for driving - what documents do i need to provide for deductions for the prius
> 
> ...


What stock did you short?


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## ARTENNZ1967 (Dec 27, 2017)

i


UberTaxPro said:


> What stock did you short?


No, it wasn't a short sale, i meant it was less than a year, so i would not get taxed at 15%, i would get taxed at a higher rate, it was Nvidia Stock


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## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

Did you use the SMR or actual expenses last year? 
The student stuff depends on a lot of factors but go thru this list to make sure your not missing anything:
https://www.moneycrashers.com/education-tax-deductions-credits-college/
Not really a lot you can do with the stock profit other than commissions etc.. If you were to trade stocks as a business the tax situation can be better but it takes a lot of trading to satisfy the IRS's definition of a trader. 
Nvidea's been going up since 2016! You think it has more upside?


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## ARTENNZ1967 (Dec 27, 2017)

UberTaxPro said:


> Did you use the SMR or actual expenses last year?
> The student stuff depends on a lot of factors but go thru this list to make sure your not missing anything:
> https://www.moneycrashers.com/education-tax-deductions-credits-college/
> Not really a lot you can do with the stock profit other than commissions etc.. If you were to trade stocks as a business the tax situation can be better but it takes a lot of trading to satisfy the IRS's definition of a trader.
> Nvidea's been going up since 2016! You think it has more upside?


- this is my first year driving for Uber/Lyft 
-thanks for the website regarding the student deductions
-personally, i would not buy Nvidia stock now, it's $220 per share, but as long as there is cryptocurrency mining then nvidia will continue to grow. 
Gpu's are being used in self driving cars and that industry is yet to boom, so you never know its very unpredictable, the only way to find out if Nvidia's stock will go higher is to build a time machine...LOL
but, look at Amazon, they are over $1300 per share. i had a chance to buy it at $400 per share but i though it was going to flop... a decision i regret 
***procced with caution, you could loose your principle in the stock market. last year i had one company file bankruptcy and i lost $10,000


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## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

Yep, I know about the risks of the market! The worse thing is that unless you meet the IRS's definition of a trader and apply for trader status your losses are limited. When you lost the $10,000 last year (assuming you didn't have other gains) you were limited to deducting only $3000 for the tax year. The $7000 left over can be carried forward every year until you use it up. So, this year, make sure you carry forward $3000 of your previous loss to help offset your $20,000 gain. 
With the Prius issue... long term you're gonna be better off using the SMR (standard mileage rate) for your vehicle expenses instead of the actual expense method especially with such a fuel efficient vehicle. To use the SMR the only documents you'll need is your mileage log. 
It might be tempting for you to use the actual expense method this year due to the vehicle acquisition costs but it could come back to bite you later. If you use the actual expense method you'll have to stay with that method for as long as you own the vehicle. You won't be able to switch to the SMR for that vehicle ever. Also, every year you'd have to use your vehicle for at least 50% business use. If you stop driving Uber (or Uber stops using you) or business use falls below 50% then you'd have to recapture much of the depreciation you had claimed in previous years. That's the bite.
This 2016 IRS publication (haven't seen the 2017 issue yet) discusses the actual expense method and the SMR. :
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p463.pdf


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## cindym (Apr 24, 2016)

Two additions to that: even if you use actual expenses, you need that mileage log to determine the percentage deductible (only the % of car use that was for Uber/Lyft, not personal use, so NOT 100%) and even if you choose the standard mileage deduction, you can also deduct non auto expenses incurred, like mints/water/amenities and a percentage of your cell phone costs, etc, so save those particular receipts.

With my Prius, I didn't need to save any receipts last year, since I logged more than 2 miles per dollar earned, and I paid zero Federal income tax, state income tax, Social Security OR Medicare.


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## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

cindym said:


> Two additions to that: even if you use actual expenses, you need that mileage log to determine the percentage deductible (only the % of car use that was for Uber/Lyft, not personal use, so NOT 100%) and even if you choose the standard mileage deduction, you can also deduct non auto expenses incurred, like mints/water/amenities and a percentage of your cell phone costs, etc, so save those particular receipts.
> 
> With my Prius, I didn't need to save any receipts last year, since I logged more than 2 miles per dollar earned, and I paid zero Federal income tax, state income tax, Social Security OR Medicare.


Absolutely! A mileage log is required with both vehicle deduction methods and all non vehicle related ordinary and necessary business expenses are deductible.
Even if receipts aren't needed it's a good practice to save them anyway. Gas receipts, for example, could be useful as supporting evidence if the credibility of your mileage log was ever an issue. The receipts could also be useful if you ever needed to re-create a mileage log because the original was lost, destroyed etc...


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

UberTaxPro said:


> Gas receipts, for example, could be useful as supporting evidence if the credibility of your mileage log was ever an issue. .


That happened to me, Got audited when there was a question of me driving 70,000 miles deductible miles in a single year


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