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Returning Member
posted Oct 27, 2021 3:11:16 PM

With multiple work locations, which are business miles and which are personal commute miles?

If one works a couple locations 2-3 days a week and some other locations 0-2 days a week, are the multiple 2-3 days a week locations primary main work locations and miles between there and home are personal commute miles whereas miles to and from the other 0-2 days a week locations are always business miles?

 

What about if things change and one occasionally works on location on a day every few weeks or months. Are those miles to and from work and home always personal commute even if going to a formerly 0-2 day a week location, as opposed to a formerly 2-3 days a week location? Because there seems to be no main work location?

 

Going between work locations are business miles but going between a work location and home depend on having a primary place of work(s).

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1 Replies
Expert Alumni
Oct 27, 2021 3:58:54 PM

Hi Sarifnon,

 

In simple terms, any time you drive from one place of work to another, that's a business mile. 

You can be traveling between worksites and meeting locations, but it also counts if you head out for a business lunch, make a run to the post office or the bank, or head to Staples for supplies. 

 

Unlike business miles, what the IRS considers "commuting miles" aren't tax-deductible. 

If a business mile takes you from one workplace to another, a commuting mile takes you between your home and a workplace. Driving between your house and an office building, for example, would be considered commuting

 

 If your primary place of work is your home office, your first and last trips of the day count as commuting mileage. So if you want to get some business mileage out of a trip from home, go to a temporary work location first — like a client meeting site

https://www.keepertax.com/posts/business-miles-vs-commuting-miles

 

The IRS allows employees and self-employed individuals to use a standard mileage rate, which for 2021 business driving is 56 cents per mile.

To determine the number of miles driven for business you need two numbers for each business vehicle:

  • The total number of miles driven during the year
  • The total number of miles driven just for business

Tracking your total mileage for the year is simple.  Write down the odometer reading on the day that you start using a vehicle for business and on the day the year ends.

Miles that count as part of your business mileage deduction include the number of miles actually driven for business. For example, miles driven:

  • To visit a customer or meet a client
  • To the bank, office supply and computer store
  • To meet with your accountant or lawyer on business matters

Some travel is not considered business-related:

  • Driving from your home to your workplace and back is commuting. It's not deductible on either your business or your individual return.
  • If you stop at the store on the way home from a business trip, the remaining miles from the store to home are generally considered personal mileage, so you usually can't include them.

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/small-business-taxes/business-use-of-vehicles/L6hi0zzzh

 

Hope this helps,

 

Ron G