Claiming miles driven for military and school

[anna-luna621]

I was told since I am in the military (national guard) that I can claim my miles to and from the armory.
Also, I have heard of students claiming their miles driving to and from school if they commute. Both of these added up to about 12,000 miles last year combined. Can I deduct this?

[DanielV01 · Accepted solution]

Yes, to the National Guard miles.  It depends, for the school miles.  Even if you can deduct the school miles (which I'll get to in a moment), you will need to separate the two amounts out because they would get treated differently.

For the National Guard miles you will be able to deduct these by filling out Form 2106.  BE SURE to mark that this is for the National Guard as it gets a special treatment:  it is a direct deduction instead of an itemized deduction, which is a bigger benefit.  If you have other unreimbursed expenses for your work in the Guard, you would also include these here.

For schooling, mileage is typically only claimable if you are claiming a work-education expense.  Please see this FAQ:  https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3300866.  If the education is for the Guard, you can claim them together with the other Guard miles and expenses.  However, if you do so, you will not be entitled to other education benefits like the American Opportunity Credit or other educational credits.  If your education is work-related for a separate job, you will file a separate Form 2106, mentioning for what job it is.  This expense is subject to itemized deductions as the FAQ mentioned.

To access Form 2106, please see this FAQ:  https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/4800418

[bwa]

I would like to add some comments:

• If you travel from work to a National Guard meeting, the mileage is deductible.  If you travel from home, it is not deductible.  Here's an example from Publication 3 (the Armed Forces Tax Guide):  "What if I travel to an Armed Forces reserve unit meeting?   A meeting of an Armed Forces reserve unit is a second place of business if the meeting is held on a day on which you work at your regular job. You can deduct the expense of getting from one workplace to the other. You usually cannot deduct the expense if the reserve meeting is held on a day on which you do not work at your regular job. In this case, your transportation generally is a nondeductible commuting expense. However, you can deduct your transportation expenses if the location of the meeting is temporary and you have one or more regular places of work."
• If travel from home it is not deductible, because it is commuting.  An exception is if you live more than 100 miles from the drill.