I have expense 4 start up Co. 4 travel,hotels etc.B4 single LLC formed in Oct. Do i place vehicle in svc. then & take mileage ded. or in Oct. and add $ to start up costs?

[KarenL2 · Accepted solution]

It depends on your actual Start Date.  The date your vehicle is placed in service would be your Start Date for your business.  Your Start Date would be the date you were "able" to receive revenue, whether or not you actually received any.  The date the LLC was formed doesn't matter in relation to when your business started for tax purposes.  This assumes you are filing a Schedule C.

Therefore, based on your Start Date, all deductible expenses prior to that would be Start Up Costs.

"Business start-up and organizational costs are generally capital expenditures. However, you can elect to deduct up to $5,000 of business start-up and $5,000 of organizational costs paid or incurred after October 22, 2004. The $5,000 deduction is reduced by the amount your total start-up or organizational costs exceed $50,000. Any remaining costs must be amortized.”

Start-up costs include any amounts paid or incurred in connection with creating an active trade or business or investigating the creation or acquisition of an active trade or business.       Organizational costs include the costs of creating a corporation. "

Note: You can elect to deduct or amortize certain business start-up costs. Refer to chapters 7 and 8 of Publication 535, Business Expenses. 

How to get there in TurboTax:

While inside the software and working on your return, type start-up expenses in the Search at the top of the screen (you may see a magnifying glass there).  There will be a popup that says Jump to  start-up expenses.  Select that to get to the general area.