I have a photography business. Can I claim round trip mileage from my home to each photoshoot if I don't meet the "exclusive" test of the "principal place of business"?

[bwhiting3]

I have a photography business. I do my administrative and photo editing work in our home. However, I don't have a designated or distinguished spot or location where I do this work (i.e. I do this work in our bedroom). I believe that because this would not be "regular" and "exclusive" and would not meet the definition of the principal place of work, that I would not be able to claim any home office deductions or related expenses. But can I claim round trip vehicle mileage from our home to each respective photoshoot with this information in mind?

The response I got already from posing this question was the following:

es, probably. To deduct mileage, the home just needs to be the "Principal Place of Business".  It does not need to qualify for the Home Office deduction (the 'Regularly and Exclusively' rule does not apply).  

If the regular and exclusive does not apply to the definition of "principal place of business" for this particular deduction, how do I know if my home is my principal place of business. I haven't been able to find any specifics or answers in the guidance. The only thing I can find is when it relates to home office deductions

[TaxGuyBill]

Deleted.

[TaxGuyBill]

Sorry, I didn't see your last sentences.  This will help you figure out if it is the Principal Place of Business.
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/publications/p587/ar02.html#en_US_2016_publink1000226302">https://www.irs.gov/pu...>

For future reference, it is MUCH better to respond in your original question, rather than asking a new one.

[Carl]

You should also try to designate a room or space in your house that is exclusively for business use. That way you can claim the home office and that helps immensely when it comes to claiming vehicle mileage.To qualify for the HO, it's important to understand and correctly comprehend the questions. Here's they are worded in a more clear and concise manner.
 - Percentage of time you use this office for your business - For the most part, that would be 100%. In my home I have a home office for my business. I am in that home office conducting or performing business actions about 3 hours a day on average. The other 21 hours a day that room is used for nothing else. So when I do use that room for anything, it's 100% business use.
 - Percentage of business conducted in the home office - For me, it's about 70-80%. I spend the other 20-30% of my time "at work" at my client's location conducting business.

[bwhiting3]

I have read that excerpt that you attached. However, I still don't understand if that definition of principal place of business is based on just getting the home office deduction or if it applies to getting mileage as well. I do not claim any other expenses for this business except for mileage to photoshoots and equipment and other directly related photography items. We don't have a room that is exclusively used for editing photos and doing other administrative things as we dont need a separate exclusive room to perform these tasks. We just use our bedroom. So in this sense, I don't meet the exclusive test of principal place of business but does that mean I cannot claim miles for when I leave my house to go to photos? I have yet to find an answer to this question. I even looked at that flow chart on the excerpt you attached but that specifically says for the home office deduction.

[bwhiting3]

I guess the my question really is, in order to claim mileage do I need to have a "home office" that meets the specific criteria of "regular" and "exclusive"?

[TaxGuyBill]

As Hal_Al orginally answered, no, it does not need to meet the "regular" and "exclusive" criteria.

[Carl]

The HO is not required. But it just makes it easier to substantiate your "principle place of business" claim should you ever be audited, is all.
Based on your information, you wouldn't qualify for the HO anyway, unless you have a spare bedroom or storage room somewhere in the house where you could set one up.

[Opus 17]

The key point is this revenue ruling.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-99-7.pdf

Publication 587 and 463 are unclear on the point -- does the home have to be a principle place of business and qualify as a home office under the regular and exclusive rules before you can deduct your transportation.  The publications are focused on the deductibility of the home office, and don't really say whether the home can be your principal place of business for deducting transportation if it is not also a qualifying home office.  But, the revenue ruling does say that your home can be your principle place of business even if it is not a deductible home office.