I use my personal vehicle for work every day. Can I write off my car payment and other maintenance updates like oil changes?

[samantharlynn]

My work does not offer company vehicles and a personal vehicle is mandatory to work. Also, work requires special insurance coverage for my vehicle, can I write the car insurance off too? If yes, How do I do this?

Also, My work does not offer any mileage reimbursement or any additional incentives for the mandatory use of personal vehicle. I'm in Pennsylvania, if that makes a difference.

[SweetieJean]

How do you use it for work (other than commuting)? Do you travel from job site to job site during the day?  What is the special insurance for?

[samantharlynn]

I am social work/ human services. I pick up clients drive them to appointments, schooling, and other community resource/ services. I need special liability insurance because I am required to transport clients.

[ghost]

Below, answer by bwa gives two options for this deduction. You must itemize deductions and your job expenses must exceed 2% of your AGI (adjusted gross income) to count. So if your AGI is $50000, then your job expenses must be at least $1000 and then only the amount that exceeds $1000 is counted.

[kristinacollins]

what is the depreciation amount on my vehicle

[bwa · Accepted solution]

You can claim deductible business auto 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 $.555/mile.
• 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 deducting lease payments if you lease it.)

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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.

(No matter which method you use, your auto expenses must be reduced by any reimbursement not otherwise reported as income.)

[crystal_petal_ro]

I have done this it does exceed 2% but seen no difference in my refund. I have to travel 100 miles 52 weeks to pick up stock my job site is only 4 miles round trip away from my house. I am given no money back for my expenses. Please help

[bwa]

Possible reasons for no change in your refund:
1.  Your total itemized deductions including these costs don't exceed your standard deduction, so the standard deduction is used, or
2.  Your tax liability without the deductions has already been reduced to zero.

[DoninGA]

Use, including maintenance, repair and insurance of a personal vehicle, as an employee,  for traveling back and forth to work is not a deductible expense on your Federal tax return.

However, if you have unreimbursed employee job expenses, you may be able to claim them as an itemized deduction on your return.

Go to Federal Taxes
Click on Deductions and Credits
Click on Explore on My Own
Scroll down to Employment Expenses
On Job-Related Expenses click the start button

[VictoriaD75]

It depends. If you use the standard mileage deduction, depreciation is considered as part of the standard mileage rate, and the vehicle is not depreciated separately. 

For new and pre-owned vehicles put into use in 2019 (assuming the vehicle was used 100% for business):

• The maximum first-year depreciation write-off is $10,100, plus up to an additional $8,000 in bonus depreciation.
• For SUVs with loaded vehicle weights over 6,000 pounds, but no more than 14,000 pounds, 100% of the cost can be expensed using bonus depreciation.

See the information in the links below:

Business Use of Vehicles.

Standard Mileage vs Actual Expenses

[jmjacks]

Cannot figure out to put the deductions for business use of a personal vehicle.

[AmyC]

You posted on a very old thread. So I am going to assume that either you have a business and use your personal vehicle or you are an employee and live in a state that still allows an employee deduction or even possibly have a job that allows the federal deduction.

• Self-employed -see Where do I enter my self-employment business expenses, like home office, vehicle mileage, and suppli...
• Employee - go to deductions and credits, scroll down to Job-Related Expenses and go through that section.

@jmjacks