Do I have to claim all my miles for Rideshare driving? I am trying to get a home loan and if I use all my miles my AGI is too low to qualify. Is there a minimum?

[Critter]

You are required to report all qualifying expenses on a Sch C no matter what the bottom line will be ... now that said make sure you do not include commuting or idle miles ... only count working miles. 

[fanfare]

you don't have to report expenses if that is to your disadvantage.

[Critter]

@fanfare 

To not claim valid expenses to manipulate the bottom line could be income tax fraud especially when paired with  refundable credits like the EIC ... the only legal way to manipulate the bottom line is thru the depreciation section where you can choose to expense an item or depreciate it and then choose a shorter/longer depreciation method or 179 deduction.    

Sch Cs with no supporting docs for the income and  no expenses  that wind up in the sweet spot of the EIC chart will get audited  almost every time... it is now a hot spot.  The following rules for professional tax preparers will also apply to the individual if they are audited and can result in penties, fines and the restricted use of the EIC for 10 years or more: 

As a paid preparer how does EITC due diligence apply to Schedule C claims prepared by me on behalf of my clients?

• EITC due diligence, IRC §6695(g), requires paid tax return preparers to make additional inquiries of taxpayers who appear to be making inconsistent, incorrect or incomplete claims related to their self‐employment when the tax return includes the earned income tax credit.
• All additional inquiries made to comply with EITC due diligence and the client’s responses must be documented.
• The statute also requires the EITC return preparer to be reasonable, well‐informed, and knowledgeable in the tax law.
• Paid tax return preparers generally can rely on the taxpayer’s representations, but EITC due diligence requires the paid preparer to take additional steps to determine that the net self employment income used to calculate the amount of or eligibility for EITC is correct and complete.

Tax preparers should ensure that the amount of net self‐employment income reported is correct.

• Taxpayers sometimes want to over‐report or under‐report their income to qualify for or maximize the amount of EITC.
• As a paid preparer, you should ask sufficient questions of clients claiming self‐employment income to be satisfied that:
1. The client actually conducts a business,
2. The client has records to support income and expenses, or can reasonably reconstruct income and expenses records, and
3. The client has included all income and related expenses on Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business (Sole Proprietorship).