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posted Jun 3, 2019 1:03:11 PM

My job requires me to drive from one clients home to the next clients home, don't I get a credit for my mileage? I am also required to have a cell phone so that my compan

can reach me at any time, so isn't that a credit also and I buy my own scrubs, credit too right?

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Alumni
Jun 3, 2019 1:03:12 PM

Mileage

You can claim deductible business auto/truck expenses for driving from one client to the next in one of two ways.

  • IRS Mileage Rate:  You can claim business miles times the IRS mileage rate. IRS mileage rates for business activities are $0.56/mile in 2014, $.575/mile in 2015, $0.54/mile in 2016 and $0.535 in 2017. You can add parking and tolls to the mileage rate.
  • Actual Cost: You can claim your actual costs including depreciation times the percentage that you use your car for business. Actual costs would include gas, oil, insurance, repairs, etc. Payments on a note would not be deductible. The cost of the vehicle would be deducted through depreciation instead (or lease payments if you lease it.)

Cell phone

The costs of a cell phone may be a business expense, but only the additional costs in using a cell phone for business are deductible. The Tax Court has several interesting cases on this. In one case, the taxpayer paid a flat rate on a phone used for business and personal calls. The court held that as he paid a flat rate for his personal phone and incurred no additional charges for business use, he has no deduction. (Ritchie, TC Summary Opinion 2005-181).

For an employee, if deductible, they would be entered as a miscellaneous itemized deduction for employee business expenses.

Example from Ritchie:  "Petitioner’s cell phone was a personal phone that he also used for business calls. Petitioner testified that he paid a flat rate, regardless of phone usage. Therefore, aside from the personal expense of the phone, which is rendered nondeductible under § 262, he incurred no additional charge for business use."

Scrubs

Certain types of costs are entered as employee business expenses. These include work clothes and uniforms if required and not suitable for everyday use. The IRS criteria for uniforms and work clothes is in Publication 529.