commuting miles to/from secondary employment

[HarryStockman]

I office at my home.  I have a dedicated room which is exclusively office...

As I understand it,   one can deduct round-trip mileage to a secondary employment from the primary place of employment is deductible   Does that apply since my "principal place of business" is my home office

[HelenC12]

No, if you're a W-2 employee. Job-related expenses for employees are no longer deductible on most people’s federal return in tax years 2018 through 2025 due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that Congress passed and the President signed into law on December 22, 2017.

Yes, if you're self-employed. See What self-employed expenses can I deduct?

However, the job-related expenses deduction is still available to people who work in one of these specific professions or situations:

• Armed Forces reservist
• Qualified performing artist
• Fee-basis state or local government official
• You're disabled and have impairment-related expenses

Additionally, job-related expenses may be deductible in your state. Enter your expenses and we’ll figure out if you can deduct them.

Expenses that qualify for this deduction are those the IRS considers "ordinary and necessary" for work, like uniforms, tools, union dues, licenses, and travel between job sites.

[HarryStockman]

I am Self-employed Schedule C.  the secondary was W2 employment from 01/01/2020- 08/10/2020.  It was a (approx) 40 hour per week gig.

I made more there than my self employment.

[RayW7 · Accepted solution]

For your Schedule C, self employment earnings-

Publication 463 lists the trips you can deduct as a self-employed subcontractor:

• Driving from your place of business to a job site, for example a plumber driving to a house to make repairs.
• Travel between different jobs, such as an electrician working on two different construction sites.
• Attending meetings away from your place of business.
• Driving to meetings with clients.
• Coming back to your workplace after any of these trips.

Driving from home to your office or a job site isn't usually deductible, unless you work out of a home office.

If your mileage for a trip is deductible, you can also deduct any parking fees you pay. If you have to pay a parking garage while attending a meeting at your client's office, for instance, those fees are deductible. If you pay parking fees when you go to your own office, they're not.

Many taxpayers over the years have tried to justify home-to-office commuting trips (not deductible) or purely recreational trips as business trips and therefore deductible. The IRS has a list of arguments that won't fly:

• You were talking with a client on a cell phone.
• You were talking to a colleague who shared the ride with you.
• You have an advertising display on your personal car (e.g., "McMann, Breckenridge and Holt, attorneys").
• You carry tools or papers needed for work. If you have to pay for a trailer to transport equipment, the trailer costs are deductible, though.