Personal Vehicle

[CalamariCooper]

I work in oil & gas, my work is in remote locations and I have to take my personal vehicle to get to location usually around 20-70 miles. I get a vehicle allowance of 500 a month, a gas card, and basic maintenance paid for. I want to know if I can deduct the use of my vehicle and depreciation since it’s used primarily for work. I read on the IRS page that it’d count as commute from my home to the office, and the distance from the office to location could be deducted, but just want to make sure I have everything right.

[JulieS · Accepted solution]

No, you probably can't deduct vehicle expenses of any kind, but it depends on a few factors.

First of all, if you are paid on a W-2 form, you can't deduct any work related expenses. The Tax Cut and Jobs act eliminated this deduction, with just a few exceptions.

If you are paid as a contractor and receive a 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC for this work, you may be able to deduct some expenses that are not paid by your company.

You have a good understanding of the allowed mileage, it would just be from the office to the remote location and back. If you are actually a contractor, you may be able to deduct some of your personal vehicle use based on your business use percentage.

You would need to figure the amount of business mileage you have and the total miles for the year. The percentage of business use would be applied to your deduction.

You would report all of your vehicle expenses and subtract all of your reimbursement. If you still have a number greater than $0, that would be your allowed deduction.