HelenaC
New Member

Deductions & credits

Yes, generally, you may deduct your mileage that you used for your business such as a seminar.

You can only deduct mileage if you keep a written log of your miles otherwise you can't deduct mileage. Per IRS, you have to have adequate evidence. See https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463/ch05.html .

The IRS considers adequate evidence as a log of  "who, what, when, and where" which may include the following:

  • The cost of the car and any improvements,
  • The date you started using it for business,
  • The mileage for each business use,
  • The total miles for the year.
  • Date of the expense.
  • Your business destination.
  • Business purpose for the expense. 

 

 If you are self-employed (Schedule C), enter/edit your vehicle's mileage:

  • Log on to TurboTax and click on the orange button, Take me to my return.
  • Type vehicle expenses, self-employed business in the search/find box and click search.
  • Click on Jump to vehicle expenses, self-employed business.
  • Edit your business.
  • At the 'Your xxxx Business' screen, scroll down to Business Expenses.
  • Click start/update next to Business Vehicle Expense.
  • Continue with the onscreen interview until you get to the 'How Do You Want to Enter Your Mileage for your vehicle'.  See the screenshot below.

 

If you are an employee, vehicle (Job-related) expenses  are reported on Form 2106 (Employee Business Expenses).

  • Log on to TurboTax and click on the orange button, Take me to my return.
  • Type vehicle expenses, employee in the search box and click search..
  • Click the Jump to vehicle expenses, employee link in the search results.
  • At the Tell us about the occupation you have expenses for screen, enter your occupation.
  • Click Continue, and follow the onscreen instructions.
  • If you land on the Job-Related Expenses Summary screen instead, you can either Edit expenses for an existing job or click Add Another Occupation to enter expenses for a new one.

Tip: If the only work-related use of your car is commuting back and forth between your home and main workplace, do not enter any vehicle mileage or expenses. The IRS doesn't let employees deduct commuting costs.