topic My Business Vehicle was in an accident and totaled in Self employed

My Business Vehicle was in an accident and totaled

jsias — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 08:26:36 GMT

I stopped using my business vehicle in 2021 because it was involved in an accident and was determined to be a total loss. I did not stop using it to use it for personal use, I did not sell it or trade it in. What are the steps in reporting this? I am stuck in the sections asking for "sales price" "vehicle cost" "gain or loss basis" and "calculate depreciation equivalent" any help would be much appreciated

Re: My Business Vehicle was in an accident and totaled

DianeW777 — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 17:33:45 GMT

It is considered a sale for tax purposes. Whatever the insurance gave you for the vehicle will be the selling price. The steps are detailed and should be followed below.

Using the vehicle section in the business activity be sure to write down all depreciation used for all prior years and the current year so you are prepared to enter the sale.

When you go through the vehicle section until you reach the screen 'Do any of these apply to the truck?'
Select 'Your percentage of business use of the vehicle varied over the years.'
1. Only if applicable. If your vehicle was 100% business do not select this.
On the next screen select 'Yes' you converted this asset to nonbusiness use'
Finish the vehicle section.
Now you are ready to enter the sale of the vehicle under Sale of Business Property (not the business activities).
To record the sale of a business asset (vehicle) outside of the business/asset entry.
Sign into your TurboTax account:
- Under Business Income and Expenses >Less Common Business Situations > Sale of Business Property Start or Revisit > Enter your sale (TurboTax CD/Download)
- Under Wages and Income > Other Business Situations > Sale of Business Property (TurboTax Online)
See images below (TurboTax CD/Download will look similar)

Re: My Business Vehicle was in an accident and totaled

jsias — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 19:22:39 GMT

Thank you for your response, however, it does not appear to be as straightforward as illustrated here...it is prompting me to compute "All depreciation plus section 179 deduction taken before 2021 on this property" and "Depreciation recomputed on this property using the straight-line depreciation method"

sounds very confusing, any further guidance on this would be appreciated, if possible, thank you

Re: My Business Vehicle was in an accident and totaled

DianeW777 — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 19:45:08 GMT

If you did use the standard mileage rate on this vehicle during the business use then you would calculate the depreciation used for each business mile by using the chart shown below. A portion of the standard mileage rate is considered depreciation as noted in the chart.

If you did use actual expenses and depreciation please provide details if necessary.

Section 179 would have been used only in the first year it was placed in service.

Date placed in service, cost and which method you used for deducting the vehicle (actual cost or standard mileage rate).

You can also provide a token with a diagnostic copy (all personal information is scrubbed for privacy) for someone to see your specific situation for your vehicle.

Go to the black panel on the left side of your program and select Tax Tools.

Then select Tools below Tax Tools.
A window will pop up which says Tools Center.
On this screen, select Share my file with Agent.
You will see a message explaining what the diagnostic copy is.  Click okay through this screen and then you will get a Token number.
Reply to this thread with your Token number. This will allow us to open a copy of your return without seeing any personal information.

We will then be able to see exactly what you are seeing and we can determine what exactly is going on in your return and provide you with a resolution.