I am a trade show vendor. All of my shows I attend are out of town. Am I allowed to deduct mileage to the venue and return trip back home on my business mileage?

meisterrum — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 00:59:26 GMT

Are you an employee or self-employed? Do you have a home...

DS30 — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 00:59:27 GMT

Are you an employee or self-employed? Do you have a home office?

It depends. As a trade show vendor, you are self employe...

Melaine — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 00:59:28 GMT

It depends. As a trade show vendor, you are self employed and can indeed get the deduction if you have a home office, or a regular place of business from which you will be traveling from. You should also have the following as evidence to prove your mileage claim.

Date of trip

Destination

Business Purpose of trip

Miles for trip

Odometer readings (before you begin the trip and at the end)

For more information see Turbo Tax article; Taking Business Tax Deductions, the passage below is an excerpt from the article

Automobiles

As a small business owner, you can deduct automobile expenses for visits to clients, customers or travel to business meetings away from your regular workplace. If you have a home office, a drive from your home to a supplier and back home again is a 100 percent deductible business expense.

When figuring expenses, you may choose between taking the standard mileage rate (which generally changes every six months to a year), or deducting your actual expenses for items such as gas, oil changes, tires, repairs, preventive maintenance, insurance and registration. If you choose to deduct your actual expenses in the year you start using your car for business, you can't switch to the standard mileage rate later. If you choose the standard mileage method first, you can switch to actual expenses in a later year.

In choosing the method that yields the higher deduction, the number of miles you drive each year is probably the most important factor. If you do a lot of driving, then the standard mileage rate method may work better for you. However, automobiles that consume more gas may let you claim a higher deduction using the actual expense method. If you decide to deduct your actual expenses, you must keep a log of your trips noting the date, the miles driven, and the purpose of each trip. Try to log your trips as they occur, when it's easier to keep track of the details. Keep a record of your gas purchases, insurance and registration payments, and repairs and maintenance costs. If the IRS ever audits you, you will need to provide written documentation to substantiate your deduction. If you're self-employed, you can also deduct the business part of interest on your car loan, state and local property taxes, parking fees and tolls, even if you claim the standard mileage rate.

Also, if you review IRS Publication linked here, you will find a sample of the log at the end of the publication. This should help guide you as to what you will need to prove mileage. For more information, please read the following article on Business Use of Vehicles.

topic It depends. As a trade show vendor, you are self employe... in Deductions & credits

I am a trade show vendor. All of my shows I attend are out of town. Am I allowed to deduct mileage to the venue and return trip back home on my business mileage?

Are you an employee or self-employed? Do you have a home...

It depends. As a trade show vendor, you are self employe...