# Is this true



## Jleakakos (Jul 17, 2019)

I found this on the h&r website.










I thought we could claim all miles.


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

I disagree and will go down fighting strenuously in an audit if it came to that. My home is my place of business for my Uber business. I sit home, wait for call, go out and do call and then retun home if it's not busy out. I deduct every mile I have the app on. On Saturday's I'll go out and run errands while I have the app on. If I get a call I'll stop what I'm doing and take the ping.


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## TCar (Aug 4, 2019)

If my app is on, I am deduction mileage. 
If I take someone 1 hour north, then have to turn my app off to deadhead back, 
I am deducting mileage until I get back to home spot, then either turn on app or go home 
and stop tracking mileage.
If I am working, I am tracking mileage.


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## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

Jleakakos said:


> I found this on the h&r website.
> 
> View attachment 383846
> 
> ...


You can deduct all "business miles"

The new sharing economy has created gaps between the emerging, unclear tax situations and traditional law. Your question is a good example of this.

In 2016, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen stated the IRS was addressing the "interesting tax situations" that the sharing economy has given rise to. Also, the IRS launched a Sharing Economy Resource Center to help with the confusion. However, specific information as to how to answer your question can not be found there along with many other "grey area" questions.

Other businesses will often use an established "home office" to avoid any business stop rule issues.


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## percy_ardmore (Jun 4, 2019)

Jleakakos said:


> I found this on the h&r website.
> 
> View attachment 383846
> 
> ...


Claim what you want, just don't show a net loss. Your chances of being audited are about the same as winning the lottery.


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

Every mile you drive while online is deductible. Every tax article Ive seen says you can claim the miles from when you first leave your house to your first passenger but not from your Last Passenger home. I usually keep the app on until I'm just a few minutes from home. However, usually only have my premium platforms on. That way at least if I get a hit it will be worth it


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## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

Daisey77 said:


> Every mile you drive while online is deductible. Every tax article Ive seen says you can claim the miles from when you first leave your house to your first passenger but not from your Last Passenger home. I usually keep the app on until I'm just a few minutes from home. However, usually only have my premium platforms on. That way at least if I get a hit it will be worth it


What happens if your last drop has a 60 mile dead head back through a state you're not authorized to pick up in? That happens everyday to CT drivers dropping at NY airports.
All "businesses miles" are deductible


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## islanddriver (Apr 6, 2018)

I start and end my mileage 1 mile from my home.thats my compute


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

Jleakakos said:


> I found this on the h&r website.
> 
> View attachment 383846
> 
> ...


Uber will give you a mileage quote on your 1099. Some guy just got audited for trying to write off too many miles w/o any income. Idt so much money is being made here to have to worry about it


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## peteyvavs (Nov 18, 2015)

Jleakakos said:


> I found this on the h&r website.
> 
> View attachment 383846
> 
> ...


When in doubt LIE, LIE, LIE


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## Invisible (Jun 15, 2018)

UberTaxPro said:


> What happens if your last drop has a 60 mile dead head back through a state you're not authorized to pick up in? That happens everyday to CT drivers dropping at NY airports.
> All "businesses miles" are deductible


That's a great example. That happens to me, when I drop off in IL, but I'm not authorized to pickup riders in IL.


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## peteyvavs (Nov 18, 2015)

Seriously if you have your app on then those dead miles are tax deductible, just keep a log of miles driven.


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

UberTaxPro said:


> What happens if your last drop has a 60 mile dead head back through a state you're not authorized to pick up in? That happens everyday to CT drivers dropping at NY airports.
> All "businesses miles" are deductible


 it looks like they've changed the wording or the rules because now it specifically says you can deduct the miles on the way home from The Last Passenger. Before it definitely did not say that. It's always been a Hot Topic


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## peteyvavs (Nov 18, 2015)

Daisey77 said:


> it looks like they've changed the wording or the rules because now it specifically says you can deduct the miles on the way home from The Last Passenger. Before it definitely did not say that. It's always been a Hot Topic


You can always say that you live out of your car, that's your home.


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## LADryver (Jun 6, 2017)

Jleakakos said:


> I found this on the h&r website.
> 
> View attachment 383846
> 
> ...


In all business travel, the leg to home is personal, for the reason that, as in training I was told (in the IRS) "You go home for personal reasons". And the first leg out to do business is considered commuting. Everything in-between is business use so long as it is not on an exclusively personal break.



peteyvavs said:


> You can always say that you live out of your car, that's your home.


Then you would barely be able to write off most miles without a detailed log. You need a home base, even if you do not have a home, on any given day, and the base could change day by day.



Invisible said:


> That's a great example. That happens to me, when I drop off in IL, but I'm not authorized to pickup riders in IL.


Dead head miles back are commuting. Dead head miles to the next authorized pick up are business.


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## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

peteyvavs said:


> You can always say that you live out of your car, that's your home.


Does your car have a toilet, kitchen and a place to sleep? &#129300; some boats & motor homes do.


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## DriverMark (Jan 22, 2018)

islanddriver said:


> I start and end my mileage 1 mile from my home.thats my compute


Great point! My Holiday Convenience Store (7-11) 1 mile up the road. I stop there to grab my drink when going out. Sounds like that is where I start and end my work day!!

Odds are forever in your favor of never having to worry about mileage as long as you aren't doing something extremely stupid on your returns to cause attention. I track, but found that the miles Uber and Lyft gave me at year end are sufficient to claim. Believe in an audit situation that will be more than sufficient, along with my personal tracking. Highly unlikely to ever get audited. But how would the IRS determine the "commute" miles unless you self incriminate?


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## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

Invisible said:


> That's a great example. That happens to me, when I drop off in IL, but I'm not authorized to pickup riders in IL.


It's a grey area but IMO the mileage back to your authorized area at least, is a necessary & ordinary expense. It's interesting that Uber now includes these dead head miles from ny back to ct in online miles as long as you keep the app on. In the past, the app would shut down shortly after the drop in ny. Does the app record your dead miles coming back from IL?


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## Invisible (Jun 15, 2018)

UberTaxPro said:


> It's a grey area but IMO the mileage back to your authorized area at least, is a necessary & ordinary expense. It's interesting that Uber now includes these dead head miles from ny back to ct in online miles as long as you keep the app on. In the past, the app would shut down shortly after the drop in ny. Does the app record your dead miles coming back from IL?


I don't know if the app records the miles since I haven't done R/S for s year yet. But it puts me unavailable and says something about how I must be registered in the other state. I checked with my hub. I can't do IL pickups. But Im including those miles on the way back to my state.



LADryver said:


> Dead head miles back are commuting. Dead head miles to the next authorized pick up are business.


However, it's a gray area because I wouldn't have been in IL, if I wasn't dropping off pax. There's no way up to 40 miles, or whatever it is, can't be included. Chicago is 90 min from my area, so it's doesn't make sense I'd have to wait until the state border to start reclaiming miles.


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## LADryver (Jun 6, 2017)

Invisible said:


> I don't know if the app records the miles since I haven't done R/S for s year yet. But it puts me unavailable and says something about how I must be registered in the other state. I checked with my hub. I can't do IL pickups. But Im including those miles on the way back to my state.
> 
> 
> However, it's a gray area because I wouldn't have been in IL, if I wasn't dropping off pax. There's no way up to 40 miles, or whatever it is, can't be included. Chicago is 90 min from my area, so it's doesn't make sense I'd have to wait until the state border to start reclaiming miles.


You do not need the app on where it would not function for you. It is not about the app. If you subsequently turn the app back on and accept a ride immediately after arriving back, the miles were business miles. If you just go home, they were not. Here is where you have control over whether something is or is not considered business. The difference in record keeping does apparently exist while Uber counts those miles for you. Otherwise with the app off, as you choose, you would have to count those miles yourself.


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## Invisible (Jun 15, 2018)

LADryver said:


> You do not need the app on where it would not function for you. It is not about the app. If you subsequently turn the app back on and accept a ride immediately after arriving back, the miles were business miles. If you just go home, they were not. Here is where you have control over whether something is or is not considered business. The difference in record keeping does apparently exist while Uber counts those miles for you. Otherwise with the app off, as you choose, you would have to count those miles yourself.


Makes sense, thanks.


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## SHalester (Aug 25, 2019)

I count all miles while I'm on my 'shift' app online or off. All to/from my home. recorded by an app with GPS device. It's like if you owned a business and paid a lease. You deduct the entire lease, not just hours 'open'.


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## Invisible (Jun 15, 2018)

SHalester said:


> I count all miles while I'm on my 'shift' app online or off. All to/from my home. recorded by an app with GPS device. It's like if you owned a business and paid a lease. You deduct the entire lease, not just hours 'open'.


Great way to put it. I do that as well, but I wanted to make sure for the times Uber doesn't let me go available, while in another state. So this thread helped.


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## Wildgoose (Feb 11, 2019)

Jleakakos said:


> I found this on the h&r website.
> 
> View attachment 383846
> 
> ...


Ture... But also can be considered as not true. 
Think about this way. Suppose you want to do Ubering in the city, you drove there and when you reach there, you turn your app on. Wait for ping then go pick up. That is what this statement means. The driving distance from your home to city can not be considered as deductible miles. 
But we turn the app on as soon as we left home. We drive a little bit then got a ping. In this case, there is no commuting distance. The driven distance can not be excluded from deduction miles. Since there is no commuting miles should be considered. 
In case of going home. From the place after you turn off the app and go home, that driven distance should be deductible miles. That's what this statement means.


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## DriveLV (Aug 21, 2019)

Disgusted Driver said:


> On Saturday's I'll go out and run errands while I have the app on. If I get a call I'll stop what I'm doing and take the ping.


I do this all the time. As long as I'm not picking up perishable groceries, I pretty much do all my personal errands logged into Uber.


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

Business Miles.

I turn my app on at home. Wait a while, if I don't get any pings I go looking for work. These are business miles. There are days where I may drive up to 10 miles looking for work and never get a ping. For one to say these are all commute miles is unrealistic. Having proper mileage logs documenting all you miles and stops is your best defense.


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## percy_ardmore (Jun 4, 2019)

Wildgoose said:


> Ture... But also can be considered as not true.
> Think about this way. Suppose you want to do Ubering in the city, you drove there and when you reach there, you turn your app on. Wait for ping then go pick up. That is what this statement means. The driving distance from your home to city can not be considered as deductible miles.
> But we turn the app on as soon as we left home. We drive a little bit then got a ping. In this case, there is no commuting distance. The driven distance can not be excluded from deduction miles. Since there is no commuting miles should be considered.
> In case of going home. From the place after you turn off the app and go home, that driven distance should be deductible miles. That's what this statement means.


Notice how the first word is 'Generally'.


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## lyft_rat (Jul 1, 2019)

SHalester said:


> I count all miles while I'm on my 'shift' app online or off. All to/from my home. recorded by an app with GPS device. It's like if you owned a business and paid a lease. You deduct the entire lease, not just hours 'open'.


I count all my miles with the odometer. I don't care if the app is on or off. Odometer is verified by annual state inspection so it is easy to prove the car traveled those miles. I have another vehicle to claim for personal use. I think this is safe from an audit target as long as there is non-trivial income shown.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

If your first "business" stop is a gas station to gas/vacuum out your car and your last stop of the day is at a gas station to refill your gas...

Guess what?


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## wallae (Jun 11, 2018)

I took a long trip. Coming home I had the radio loud and missed a few requests. Uber logged me out, but I was still working.
I have screen shots for the IRS if needed.


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