Vehicle Deduction/Reimbursed Miles

[Mattyj7183]

I am reimbursed for all mileage driven by my employer via an Accountable Plan (IRS Topic 514). Can I claim the vehicle deduction for the wear and tear on my car if I am reimbursed the miles? Is that reimbursement meant to cover gas and wear and tear or gas and travel time or some combination of all three? And since my employer uses an accountable plan, should I even include these reimbursed expenses seeing as they were not taxed when I was reimbursed? 

[Vanessa]

No, you cannot take a deduction for wear and tear if you are reimbursed the federal rate for your miles.  If you are reimbursed less than the federal mileage rate than you can enter the miles driven as a job-related expense and then continue through the interview questions and enter the amount you were reimbursed. However, in order for this to make any difference on your return you would need to have expenses greater than 2% of your AGI and then only the portion that is above 2% will actually count towards your itemized deductions. 

If you are reimbursed the standard mileage for your miles driven since you are not taxed on that, you will not enter anything as a job expense.