Mileage Question

[zimmermanto]

Hello! 

I am starting to track mileage this year and just want to make sure I'm tracking everything I can be! 

I provide music therapy sessions at an office location 30 miles away from my home. I also complete indirect work (reporting, writing session notes, session planning, etc) at a home office.  I know I am not able to track the initial 30 miles since it's just my commute to work.

Am I able to track the drive from the office location to my home office? 
Example: I see clients 9-2, drive 30 miles to my home office, and then 3-5pm do reporting/session prep... would I be able to track that 30 mile drive since I'm going from one location to another to work? 

[Opus 17 · Accepted solution]

This is all one job, right, not two different jobs that would be on different schedule Cs?

Instructions and a diagram are included in chapter 4 of publication 463.

https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-463

It will be important to determine if your home is your "principal place of business" or the therapy site.  If you have no other regular place of business, your home can be your main place of work if that is where you do scheduling, billing, and other administrative tasks.  If your home is your principal place of business, you can deduct miles to other locations.  But if the therapy site is your principal place of business, you can't deduct mileage to the site in the morning or back home in the afternoon, both are your commute.  You could deduct other work-related mileage (such as to other temporary work locations, seeing a client at home, etc.)

Principal place of business is separately defined in publication 587.  You don't need to meet all the rules to take the home office deduction, but you must meet the principal place of business portion of the home office rule in order to deduct most of your mileage.

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p587

From your example (5 hours a day at the therapy site) I think that is going to be your principal place of business and none of your daily mileage is deductible, but that is ultimately for you to determine. 

[zimmermanto]

Hi thanks for the response, I appreciate it!!

Yes this is all one job! I just do direct sessions (most are at the therapy office, I do some driving on Monday between the office, client homes, etc), indirect work (home office), and have Director responsibilities (hybrid). 

Monday: 9-2 therapy office, 30 miles, 3-5 home office

Tuesday 9-5 therapy office

Wednesday 9-5 therapy office 
Thursday  9-2 therapy office, 30 miles, 3-5 home office

Friday 9-5 home office (1-2x month in the therapy office for meetings)