How do I enter mileage or vehicle expenses that would get me the full mileage expense deduction?

[mrkluchin]

I logged 4073 miles driven for work, so it should be at the 2017 rate of 53.5 cents/mile($2179) but my total vehicle expense deduction for the year comes out to be only $739

[IreneS]

For vehicles used in your business you can either take mileage or actual expenses.  TurboTax will calculate the most beneficial for you.

• If you choose to take mileage, depreciation is taken into consideration in the mileage rate.
• If you choose to take actual expenses, TurboTax will automatically calculate the deduction and include it with the other vehicle expenses.  To find the depreciation amount, just subtract the expenses you entered from the total expense displayed.

As you go through the interview, TurboTax will first calculate the standard mileage deduction and then ask if you would like to see if actual expenses would give a higher deduction.  You will have the opportunity to enter the expenses (gas, tires, etc.) and TurboTax will add these along with the depreciation and give you a comparison. 

To enter information on your business vehicle, please follow these steps:

1. Click on Income and Expenses and then click the Start/Revisit box in the Self-Employment section.
2. On the Your 2017 self-employed work summary screen, click on Edit next to your business.  [See Screenshot #1, below.]
3. If you've already started to enter information on your vehicles, in the EXPENSES section click on Edit next to Vehicle.  [Screenshot #2] 
4. If you haven't started, on the Here's your [business] info screen, click on the box Add expenses for this work.  [Screenshot #3] 
5. On the next screen click the radio button next to Vehicle and click Continue at the bottom of the screen.
6. Continue through the interview, entering the requested information.
7. After entering information on your vehicle, you will be taken to the Vehicle Summary screen, where you will be able to add another vehicle.  [Screenshot #4] 

[Mcmillannicole1993]

I need the Ford escort removed please

[JamesG1]

See this or follow these directions:

• Down the left side, click Federal.
• Click on Wages & Income.
• Under Your income, click on Edit/Add to the right of Self-employment income.
• Click on Edit next to the business name.
• To the right of the vehicle expenses, click Edit.
• Under Vehicle Summary, click Edit to edit the entries.  Click Delete to delete the entries.

[janet444]

This is crazy. I just want to deduct the miles I drove and I'm being asked ridiculously detailed questions about the vehicle itself! I don't even remember what I paid for it. 

I drove nearly 2000 miles last year in my job as a babysitter - not including commuting. I deserve a deduction for those miles I drove, but somehow it's not enough to track every tiny little mileage. I need to include an insane amount of information beyond that. Is this just TurboTax overcomplicating this deduction or is it the IRS?

[VictoriaD75]

Tracking business miles and the vehicle is an IRS requirement. You cannot take the mileage deduction unless you have tracked all business miles including the business purpose. Miles commuting to a job site are not deductible. If you were traveling to the same worksite everyday, you cannot deduct the miles. Additional information can be found in the links below for your reference:

Business Use of Vehicles

Maximizing Tax Deductions for the Business Use of Your Car

Standard Mileage vs Actual Expenses

[janet444]

I drove nearly 2k miles from the pickup site to the drop off site. That's because almost every day, there were multiple pickups and dropoffs.

It's helpful to know that there is no way around having to fill in the vehicle information, but it sure is frustrating!

[janet444]

I should add that I know I paid more than $16k and less than $17k, but it was in 2005. I've searched for that info to no avail, so I will assume that I can input $16,500, since that's my best estimate. I'm pretty sure it was a bit more than that, probably around $16,600.

[VictoriaD75]

If you are using the standard mileage deduction, depreciation is considered as part of the deduction. If you use the actual expense method, depreciation will be considered separately, so the exact amount of the purchase will be more relevant.

If you were driving the kids to different activities, the miles between those destinations can be deductible. You just would not be able to deduct miles between your home and the work site. Again, the IRS requires documentation of all miles. There are great apps for tracking business miles. Keep in mind, these miles are only deductible at all if you were considered self-employed. 

[janet444]

Thanks for your prompt replies, Victoria. I have a log on Excel and it's quite detailed. It seems that I'll be required to include depreciation because it's the first time I've deducted miles. It's very helpful to know this. I just wish it were easier!

[AmeliesUncle]

Unless it has changed, I'm wondering if you either missed a question or if a 'glitch' skipped a question.

The program SHOULD ask everybody things like the type of vehicle, business miles, total miles, tolls, parking fees, registration tax and loan interest.

But then it SHOULD ask you if you want to to want to enter information for the Actual Expenses or not.  If you say "yes" (to try out Actual Expenses), THEN it should ask you for things like the cost of the vehicle, repairs, etc.   But if you are want to use the Standard Mileage Rate, none of those questions are required and the program shouldn't be asking for those other things.

As for your last comment, unless you WANT to use Actual Expense for the entire life of your vehicle,  you should NOT be taking depreciation (besides the built-in component in the Standard Mileage Rate).  If you take depreciation this first year, you can never use the Standard Mileage Rate for this vehicle.

[janet444]

Thank you, Amelies Uncle. But I'm being told that I have to use the other method if I have never taken this deduction before. 

But that would mean that no matter what I do, I need to take depreciation on the vehicle.

But you're saying that there's a way to take the standard deduction initially? I'm so confused!

I wish I could have spent the time I've used working on this to actually earn money! I've spent so many hours on this deduction. The IRS shouldn't make it so complicated. I drove xxx miles. Why can't that be enough?? (Sorry, venting my frustration).

Thanks for your help!

Janet

[AmeliesUncle]

You may consider deleting the vehicle in the program and re-enter it.

If the vehicle was first used for business in 2019 ("placed in service"), you have a choice between (1) the Standard Mileage Rate (which has depreciation built-in to it) and (2) Actual Expenses (which includes depreciation, which is when you need to enter the cost of the vehicle).

I know in prior years it would ask you for the required information for the Standard Mileage Rate (see my previous comment for what it would ask for) and after that it would ask if you want to enter information for the Actual Expenses.  Maybe that changed this year and just automatically asks you for everything, then gives you a choice between the two???  I'm not sure.

At any rate, if the program is claiming depreciation, it is using the Actual Expenses rather than the Standard Mileage Rate.  As I said before, if you ever want to use the Standard Mileage Rate for this vehicle, you MUST use it this year (the first year).  So you need to make sure it is not actually claiming depreciation.

If it is still not making sense or the program is not behaving like it is meant to, you may want to contact Customer Support to help you walk through it.

[janet444]

Thanks, this is finally starting to make sense to me. And you're right, if I can't get it right by trying it this way, then I will call customer support. Thanks so much for explaining this!

[CJC8N469]

Can I submit business vehicle expenses on my 2019 federal return? Or is is only allowed on state returns? It never asked me for any information on the TurboTax Deluxe software. Did it accidentally skip over it?