Starting in 2018, employees (W-2 recipients) are no longer able to deduct any job expenses, like mileage*.
So, these answers would only apply to the self employed, who still can deduct mileage.
Q. What if the sales person (who lives 50 miles from the office) visits the client first, prior to coming into the office, do they get to deduct the greater mileage?
A. If the total trip was still 50 miles, the answer is No. If the side trip added 1 mile, then the saleman can deduct 1 mile.
Q. What if the same salesperson (who lives 50 miles from the office) visits a client very near the office, however, the sales person never goes into the actual office, can they deduct 100 miles using the temporary workplace rule?
A. No, if the trip was 100 mile or less.
*Even in the "old days" , job expenses were only a misc. itemized deduction. You only got to deduct that portion of your misc. itemized deductions that exceeded 2% of your AGI, and then only if your total itemized deductions exceeded the standard deduction (which was doubled under the 2018 tax law.
