KCoxPA <karenlcox66[at]hotmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid> wrote:

- quote -

Employee busines expenses are entered on Form 2106 which
then tranfers to Schedule A, where 1% of adjustd gross incom
is subtracted from all your miscellaneous deductions subject
to this 2% rule. That includes employee business expenses.

Allowable business mileage for 2005 is 40 1/2 cents/mile,
though you can choose to take actual mileage instead. If
the car is used let's say 5% for business, then only 5% of
depreciation (Straight line in this case) and actual car
expenses are deductibile. Most likely your mileage is
better, but do the math. You should also have a daily log
book showing odometer readings each day and location and
purpose of each business trip.

__
Art Kamlet ArtKamlet [at] AOL.com Columbus OH K2PZH

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

I need a little help deciphering IRS rules as they pertain
to car costs. Here's my situation:

I'm taking a job that requires me to travel between
locations during the day. There is no place that I can call
my regular place of business - because the amount of
business I do at any location is subject to fluctuations.
These are not (generally) temporary work places, there are 7
locations that I must cover during the week and they don't
change. In order to take this job, I will have to purchase
a car. The car will be used for both business and personal
use.

The way I read the IRS regs, the mileage from my home to my
first location, and the mileage from my last location to my
home, are personal commuting expenses and not deductable.
But the mileage in between the first and last locations is
deductable - assuming it's all business related.

I'm also confused as to the possibility of depreciating the
car - I'm not self employed, does this limit my options?

I'm a W-2 employee, and there is no reimbursement for
mileage.

Can anyone clarify the mileage rules, and if depreciation is
an option? With gas costs the way they are, is the standard
mileage rate good, or should I keep track of all the
expenses? Is one or all of the standard tax programs (ie
TurboTax) going to be able to handle this?

Thanks

KC

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >