Does turbo tax require more than beginning and end of year mileage in order to have mileage write offs or do they need more info than that .

[stlcardsmth-gmai]

This is in regards to my 2022 tax return that I’m just now doing and my mileage write offs since I’m an independent contractor and can write off my business mileage .

[Carl]

Just work it through and the program will ask you for what it needs, based on your selections. Typically for a vehicle where you're taking the per-mile deduction, you're asked for beginning of year mileage, end of year mileage, commuting miles driven, business miles driven, and personal miles driven. Hopefully, you've been keeping a mileage log if the vehicle was less than 100% business use.

[Opus 17]

If you are using the standard mileage method, the key number is the number of business miles driven.  You should have a paper or electronic log showing the date, purpose, and mileage of each business trip.  The total vehicle miles for the year don't really matter, so if the program asks, you can make your best guess.  

If you are using the actual expense method, you must know the total number of business miles driven AND the total number of vehicle miles (beginning and ending odometer) so the program can calculate the percentage of business miles.  In addition to the log mentioned above, you need records of all your repair, maintenance and fuel expenses.  If you are audited, and can't adequately prove your expenses, total miles, or percentage of business miles, the IRS could reduce your deduction.