As a missionary, can I deduct my rent and purchase of a car to use for my ministry?

[aztu]

What if the missionary work is religious and there is no related business?  How do I take these deductions?

[bwa]

If the income is from being a missionary, then that is his business.

[aztu]

I don't get paid for my missionary work.  It's all voluntary and there is no income for this work.

[bwa]

You can claim deductible business auto/truck expenses in one of two ways.

• IRS Mileage Rate:  You can claim business miles times the IRS mileage rate. IRS mileage rates for business activities are $0.56/mile in 2014 and $.575/mile in 2015. You can add parking and tolls to the mileage rate.
• Actual Cost: You can claim your actual costs including depreciation times the percentage that you use your car for business. Actual costs would include gas, oil, insurance, repairs, etc. Payments on a note would not be deductible. The cost of the vehicle would be deducted through depreciation instead (or lease payments if you lease it.)

Where to Deduct:

• If you are an employee, they are a miscellaneous itemized deduction. Miscellaneous itemized deductions are only available if you qualify to itemize and only to the extent that they exceed 2% of your Adjusted Gross Income. Example:  If your Adjusted Gross Income is $50,000, only miscellaneous itemized deductions over $1,000 are deductible. Because of this, many items deductible as miscellaneous itemized deductions have no tax value because the taxpayer doesn't itemize, or because they are lost in the 2% of adjusted gross income limitation.
• If you are self-employed, these expenses would be business expenses on Schedule C.