Vehicle Mileage Deduction for Daughter - presently non-owner

[videot7]

My daughter is a high-level ice figure skater and just turned 18.  She is now eligible to be an ice skating coach which is her career goal.

At our local rink, she will be a contract worker (not an employee).

I have a couple of questions:

1. She drives mine and my wife's car--she is not on the title.  As such, I understand that she cannot take the mileage method.  Only actual expenses.  If we put her on the title with me and my wife, will she then be able to take the mileage?  Or do we have to sell her the car and have her be the only one on the title?  Or is there a better way?
2. She will need a mentor for her to advance through the certifications she needs as a coach.  There is no one in our city qualified to do that; but her coach in the closest large city (180 miles away; 360 miles round trip) is already taking the role of a mentor, and he is more than qualified with four master ratings in skating.  I should add that he has mentored two of our daughter's previous local coaches (who are no longer coaching).  He has told us that mileage to and from there is tax deductible once she starts doing private lessons (probably in 6 to 12 months).  He said that both the mentoring and the lessons would improve her abilities as a high-level coach and so the mileage and the cost of the lessons/mentoring would be a business expense.  Now you understand why I ask the first question.  She goes about three times a month for skating lessons.  So this would be a lot of miles.  And the mileage deduction would likely take a chunk out of what she will make by coaching.  Is it a good idea to take this much of a mileage deduction?  How would the IRS likely look at this expense?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Videot

[NCperson]

@videot7 - one thing to consider....mileage from home to 'work' (and the return) is not tax-deductible, even if you are a contract employee....that is considered 'communting mileage'. 

for example.  She goes from home to the rink.  Then she coaches children at a 2nd rink in the next town and then returns home for the evening.

Only the mileage from the 1st rink to the 2nd rink would be tax reductible. To the 1st rink and returning home from the 2nd rink would not be tax deductible. 

[videot7]

@NCperson , Thanks for the reply.

You are correct.  She would only be coaching at the local (first) rink.  So she would not be taking the mileage deduction for travel to the local rink.  Because that would be commuting.

She will not be a coach at the (second) rink where she takes lessons from in the distant city.  So that mileage would be a business expense.  Although her coach there did restrict it by saying that it would only be deductible in the year that she started coaching privately with higher level students (as opposed to group coaching lower level students).

Thanks, Videot 

[rjs]

Your daughter should get tax advice from a tax professional, not from a figure skating coach. She wouldn't take skating lessons from a tax professional.

[Carl]

1. She drives mine and my wife's car--she is not on the title.  As such, I understand that she cannot take the mileage method.  Only actual expenses.  If we put her on the title with me and my wife, will she then be able to take the mileage?  Or do we have to sell her the car and have her be the only one on the title?  Or is there a better way?

Vehicle ownership is a moot point. Transportation expenses from your residence or primary abode to your place of employment are commuting expenses and are never deductible.

2. She will need a mentor for her to advance through the certifications she needs as a coach.  ... her coach in the closest large city (180 miles away; 360 miles round trip) is already taking the role of a mentor.  He has told us that mileage to and from there is tax deductible once she starts doing private lessons (probably in 6 to 12 months).

Transportation costs from the primary residence or abode to her coach are not deductible for two reasons.

   a.  It's a commuting expense, and commuting expenses from one's residence to place of employment are never deductible.

  b.  The coach's location is not her place of employment. (or self-employment).

[videot7]

@rjs, Thanks for the reply.  The reason I am asking is because I want to make sure of what her coach has told us.  

In addition, because we use TurboTax, I do not have a relationship with a tax professional.  I had a very bad experience with the last professional I used, and ended up paying for it for years for a mistake she made that she should have known better.  It turned out I knew more about how to handle it than she did.  That is why we now use TurboTax.

But if I can't get a definitive answer from the replies in this thread, that I will try to find someone with good recommendations so that we don't get burned again.

Take care, Videot

[videot7]

@Carl The basis of her coach's discussion was that his mentorship/lessons were a service that enables her profession.  If she doesn't have the lessons or mentoring, she will not be able to coach because she would not be able to receive professional skating credentials at the level she wishes to teach at. Looking at this TurboTax guide for coaches ( https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/self-employment-taxes/common-tax-deductions-for-coaches/L74vxem... ), I see that it includes in its list of deductions 

• Education and certifications necessary for you to perform your job's requirements

To be clear, she doesn't receive income from going to the distant rink.  Rather, she pays for the lessons as a necessary service that she cannot receive locally.  Therefore, they are an expense.  And his point was that the mileage was also an expense necessary to receive the mentorship/lessons.

So my question does not concern commuting mileage. But rather can the mileage to the distant rink be considered an expense necessary to receive the lessons and mentorship necessary to get and maintain her profession as a skating coach?

And if the mileage is eligible as an expense, is it necessary for her to own the vehicle as the only name on the title, or can we simply just add her name to ours.

Thanks again for your reply, Videot

[Carl]

Rather, she pays for the lessons as a necessary service that she cannot receive locally.

I'm not questioning or disputing the coaching costs. Your post is asking about transportation costs.  The transportation costs are not deductible, just as transportation costs for a college student are not deductible.

[videot7]

@Carl Thanks for the clarification.

Indeed, I was asking about the transportation costs.  It appeared from your previous post that you thought that the purpose of travel to the distant rink was for employment purposes and was therefore a commute.  And so I was clarifying the purpose of travel to that rink.

I now understand your point better.

Thanks, Videot