# Rideshare Expense App for Taxes



## Just BS (Nov 29, 2018)

What Apps are you using to track your expenses and to help with your tax preparations.

I see Quick Books, Yuddi, Taxify, Cabify and many others. Any input would be most appreciated. TIA


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## dauction (Sep 26, 2017)

Stride


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## Just BS (Nov 29, 2018)

dauction said:


> Stride


Thanks. Looking at the reviews it seems to act up intermittently and miss miles. How long have you been using it?


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## dauction (Sep 26, 2017)

Just BS said:


> Thanks. Looking at the reviews it seems to act up intermittently and miss miles. How long have you been using it?


About a year..works great.nothing will be perfect..Stride is pretty close though


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## Christinebitg (Jun 29, 2018)

I haven't used any of them. For my 600+ trips in 2018, I'm just going to add the stuff up manually, from the logs I keep on my phone.

I do, however, back up my daily logs by e-mailing them to myself on gmail.


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## Just BS (Nov 29, 2018)

Christinebitg said:


> I haven't used any of them. For my 600+ trips in 2018, I'm just going to add the stuff up manually, from the logs I keep on my phone.
> 
> I do, however, back up my daily logs by e-mailing them to myself on gmail.


What app do you use on your phone to log expenses?


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## Christinebitg (Jun 29, 2018)

Just BS said:


> What app do you use on your phone to log expenses?


Theres a memo function on my phone, and I just type the information into that. That's all it is.

The last time I added up all the info, it took me something like 30 minutes, and I have handwritten notes from that exercise. I don't feel a need to make it any more complicated than that.


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## dauction (Sep 26, 2017)

Stride is just too easy..hit track my miles to start the day and "I'm Done Driving" end of day...

Dont have to enter or calculate anything...shows a total mileage deduction for year on main page


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## MikeNY (May 6, 2016)

Hurdlr is easy plus you can track expenses by snapping a picture of the receipt or entering it manually


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## Just BS (Nov 29, 2018)

dauction said:


> Stride is just too easy..hit track my miles to start the day and "I'm Done Driving" end of day...
> 
> Dont have to enter or calculate anything...shows a total mileage deduction for year on main page


I haven't tried itemizing my deductions yet, however that is where I see the real advantages for ME doing rideshare. Does the IRS not require actual odometer readings???



MikeNY said:


> Hurdlr is easy plus you can track expenses by snapping a picture of the receipt or entering it manually


This is something I'm interested in. Right now I use a legal size envelope and write on the outside of it my odometer readings and expenses while stuffing the receipts in it. One per month. It's simple but not as efficient as electronic documentation.


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## dauction (Sep 26, 2017)

Just BS said:


> I haven't tried itemizing my deductions yet, however that is where I see the real advantages for ME doing rideshare. Does the IRS not require actual odometer readings???




|*IRS Reporting Requirements for Mileage Deduction*

By Stephen Fishman on July 26, 2016 in Mileage.

I often get asked if you have to include odometer readings for every trip to get the mileage deduction. The IRS does not require odometer readings for every trip. Let's go over the reporting requirements for mileage deduction.

*IRS Reporting Requirements for Mileage Deduction*
IRS regulations and guidance provide that to qualify for the mileage deduction you are required to have a record of four facts when you drive your car for business:


time and date of the drive
total distance of the drive
destination of the drive, and
business purpose of the drive. (IRS Reg. 1.274-5T(b)(6); IRS Publication 463, _Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses_, Table 5-1. )
You should have a written record of these facts made at or near the time the car was driven (at least weekly). This record can be an old-fashioned paper mileage log, but IRS regulations specifically provide that "a record of the business use&#8230; [of an] automobile, prepared in a computer memory device with the aid of a logging program will constitute an adequate record." (IRS Reg. 1.274-5T(c)(2)(C)(2).)

You do not have to have your car's odometer readings. This is nowhere in the tax law, IRS regulations, IRS publications or elsewhere is there any requirement. All that is required is an adequate written record of the distance you drove.


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## Gilby (Nov 7, 2017)

I have had business miles in several jobs for many years. My CPA has always been happy with my daily log of business miles, which just shows the date and how many miles qualify. I do report the annual starting and ending odometer miles and provide information on gas, car washes, repairs, etc. if it turns out to make sense to calculate the deduction based on those expenses. I have receipts for those expenses.

On a daily basis, I simply start the trip odometer when I start rideshare, and record it when I quit. This has always satisfied my accountant.


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## Christinebitg (Jun 29, 2018)

Just BS said:


> I haven't tried itemizing my deductions yet, however that is where I see the real advantages for ME doing rideshare


I presume you mean deducting your mileage costs on Schedule C, right?


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## Just BS (Nov 29, 2018)

Christinebitg said:


> I presume you mean deducting your mileage costs on Schedule C, right?


I have no idea. This is my first year driving. Still trying to figure it all out.


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## Christinebitg (Jun 29, 2018)

Just BS said:


> I have no idea. This is my first year driving. Still trying to figure it all out.


Schedule C is used for reporting income from a business you run. The expenses of that business also come off that income there.

Or at least that's my understanding. It'll be the first time of using it for me also.


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

What is okay with your accountant and an IRS auditor can be two different things.

I keep a steno pad in my car and record every stop I make along with the mileage. Date, starting mileage, ending mileage, starting address, ending address, reason, and description of destination. My records fail to record time of trip. I guess I missed that when I originally looked at IRS requirements. I will add that immediately to my log.

I then transfer this information into a spreadsheet I set up so it calculates miles per stop. I add to it pay, trip details and money details from Uber/Lyft. I use this to reconcile my weekly payouts from Uber and Lyft. in 2018 I have found 2 mistakes, one from Uber and one from Lyft. Uber did not give me credit for a trip. They fixed it. Lyft did not give me credit for a tip. They also fixed it.


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