I am a Home Health Physical Therapist. I am required to have a Car and Auto Insurance. Can I claim my car and insurance.

[CathiM · Accepted solution]

You can deduct the business portion of your actual auto expenses (which includes auto insurance) or use the standard mileage deduction.  You can choose the one that gives you the biggest deduction.

The per-mile rate for 2017 is 53.5 cents for business miles driven. Whether to use the standard mileage rate or actual costs depends. Generally, the more economical the vehicle is to operate, the more likely it is that the standard mileage rate will give you the bigger deduction. Conversely, the higher the operating costs, e.g., gas, repairs, tires, etc. the more beneficial the actual cost method is likely to be. Click here to read more: Business Use of Vehicles

Some of the costs you can include in your Actual Expenses are:

• Lease payments
• Auto insurance
• Gasoline
• Maintenance (such as oil changes, brake pad replacements, tire rotations)
• New tire purchases
• Title, licensing, and registration fees (not deductible in all states; check with TurboTax to see if this expense is deductible in your state)
• Vehicle depreciation (use a depreciation table to calculate the amount, and then deduct only the portion that applies to the business use of your vehicle)