# Taxes: I know this is a recurring question.



## Chris Marco (Jul 6, 2017)

Hey guys, 

I'm new to this board but I'm thankful I've found it! I've found a lot of threads that have been incredibly informative, but still have questions for my personal driving. I'm sorry ahead of time if these questions have been asked before, especially since I'm sure they have. I've been driving for Uber for about 4 months now, and I still have questions regarding taxes and mileage. 

The questions I have are:

(in regards to money saved aside for taxes)

Of the money I make per day worked, should I save about 15% of what I made for taxes? Is that too little or too much saved aside for taxes? 

(in regards to mileage)

I live about 20 miles away from the city I primarily work in. I only work in the city of Charleston considering it's the most busy area where I live; and the area where I live has little to very little pings during the average time I work, which is usually during the later part of the night.

With mileage, what can be counted as taxable mileage?

The drive from my house to my first run in Charleston, is this mileage qualifiable for taxable mileage? 

Is the mileage from where my last run ended to my house taxable mileage? 

(in regards to tracking mileage) 

I've been keeping record on paper in a notebook the number of miles I've driven per work day, but I haven't been logging the exact time of when I started for each day since I know the Uber app keeps track of my first and last runs. Should I start keeping track of my exact time I log into the app, and subsequently when I finish for the day? 

Also, should I digitally track my mileage as well? As in using an app and or translating my paper records to excel?

Again, I'm sorry for all the questions that I have! I just wanted to ask the board of their expertise since I'm still very new to this and want to make sure I'm working as throughly as possible so that when tax time rolls around, I'm not up the creek without a paddle! haha

Thanks guys! 

Chris


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## Uber Duber Chick (Jun 29, 2017)

A lot of good questions. I'm a new driver and have seen a number of different answers while reading thru various threads. Hopefully someone will answer you soon. That being said, it's a good educational process for yourself to read thru past threads anyway.


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

For tax purposes, you need to keep what the IRS calls a "contemporaneous mileage log." That should show the date, the business purpose, and the odometer readings at the start and end of each shift. The clock hours most likely won't matter, except to you.
Re the mileage getting to and from your home to an active area, there have been differing opinions. Some regard these trips as commuting miles, and not deductible. Others say that if the app is running and you are available and would accept a rider if you were to get a ping, the miles should be deductible. I agree with the latter.
Uber Duber Chick is right, reading through the discussions is informative. Pay special attention to posts by UberTaxPro, he is the go-to guy on these boards when it comes to tax issues.Good luck to you.

Disclaimer: I'm not a tax professional, and I have been using a CPA firm since before I started driving as an independent contractor 15 years ago.


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## Owneroperator (Jul 12, 2017)

Older Chauffeur said:


> For tax purposes, you need to keep what the IRS calls a "contemporaneous mileage log." That should show the date, the business purpose, and the odometer readings at the start and end of each shift. The clock hours most likely won't matter, except to you.
> Re the mileage getting to and from your home to an active area, there have been differing opinions. Some regard these trips as commuting miles, and not deductible. Others say that if the app is running and you are available and would accept a rider if you were to get a ping, the miles should be deductible. I agree with the latter.
> Uber Duber Chick is right, reading through the discussions is informative. Pay special attention to posts by UberTaxPro, he is the go-to guy on these boards when it comes to tax issues.Good luck to you.
> 
> Disclaimer: I'm not a tax professional, and I have been using a CPA firm since before I started driving as an independent contractor 15 years ago.


My understanding is this when it relates to commuting miles. If your home is your place of business, then going from your business (home) it would not be considered commute mileage and fully deductable.

I am also new to all this but that is my understanding. My business is a little different also because I am a NEMT provider


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

Owneroperator said:


> My understanding is this when it relates to commuting miles. If your home is your place of business, then going from your business (home) it would not be considered commute mileage and fully deductable.
> 
> I am also new to all this but that is my understanding. My business is a little different also because I am a NEMT provider


That's the way i was explained it as well.

When i owned my own taxi i just deducted every mile i put on the taxi, which I was explained was OK because I had other vehicles and every mile i drove the taxi had some kind of business purpose.

The IRS temporary work location rule also supports this assumption. Ubering (or a taxi or whatever) is just driving between tons and tons and tons of temporary work locations, meaning all of it is deductible.

So assuming your on duty all the way home, or driving between temporary work locations, personally i think the drive is double covered.

_The IRS commuting rule also doesn't apply when you travel between your *home and a temporary work location*. A temporary work location is any place where you realistically expect to work less than one year. It can be inside or outside of the metropolitan area where you live.

Example: Sally has an office in a downtown office building; she does not have a home office. Acme Corp. hired her to perform consulting work. This requires that she drive to Acme's offices, 10 miles away from her home. The project is expected to last three months. Sally may deduct the cost of driving from home to Acme Corporation's offices.

Temporary work locations are not limited to clients' offices. *Any place where you perform business-related tasks for less than one year* is a temporary work location. Stopping at a temporary work location converts the entire trip into a deductible travel expense._


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