Please elaborate.Was picking up the Sr Citizens part of your job assignment? Or was this just carpooling?
Yes, it was part of my job. I picked them up and took them home after the days activities. I worked for a senior citizen center.
After you got to work, you left in your own personal vehicle to pick up/drop off people?
Yes, in my own car with my own gas. I didn't get a gas check or card I had to use my own money. That's why I'm asking.
Are you reimbursed? And were you a W- employer, or self-employed (1099-MISC)?
I was not reimbursed. I was an employee of the city, not self employed.
Youre an employee? You get a W2? Those miles you drove transporting people will be part of itemized deductions as Unreimbursed Employee Business expenses.
I'm not sure if your gas receipts will be adequate for tax purposes....unless you only put enough gas in the vehicle to complete your work related travel each day....or you used a vehicle that was only used for work related travel...so the gas wasn't used for personal miles. If you filled up and kept the receipt, I'm assuming that some of that fuel was used for personal driving miles as well.
It's not on my W-2. I only kept the receipts I used while at work transporting seniors.
If you are a W-2 employee and you use your personal vehicle for working, you can deduct the expense, however it is an itemized deduction subject to the 2% rule, so your actual benefit will be reduced and will depend on your other tax circumstances.
The most important thing you need is a mileage diary that shows the date, # of miles or odometer reading, and business purpose of each trip. Without that, you can't deduct anything.
If you have a mileage diary, you can deduct your expense one of two ways.
The standard mileage method is a deduction of 54 cents per mile for work miles you drive that you can prove with your records. That rate includes allowances for gas, oil changes and tires, other repairs, and wear and tear.
Or you can use the actual expense method. You add up all your miles driven for work and personal, and you add up ALL your vehicle expenses, including gas, repairs, insurance, and depreciation; and the deduction is a percent of your total expenses equal to the percent of work miles driven. The standard mileage rate method is easier and results in a higher deduction for most people.
Just gas receipts alone won't work, as you have no way of proving that the gas you bought was only all used for work. You need your mileage records.
See chapter 4 here for more information. https://www.irs.gov/uac/about-publication-463
There are log books you can buy to keep in your car and record mileage, and I'm sure there are smartphone apps these days. But you need that proof.
Oh, another issue. Your commute is never deductible. So the only mileage that would be deductible is how many extra miles you had to drive because of picking up and dropping people off on the way to and from work.
You may be able to get around the diary requirement in this particular case assuming you know which days you worked, and if you have records or remember where your clients lived. You can figure the mileage difference using google maps or a similar service. You would need to write down for yourself as soon as you can, while it is fresh in your memory, a list of each day you worked, who you picked up, and how many extra miles that was for that day.