Where do I enter electric vehicle charging for business use?

[secorapearl]

Entering actual vehicle expenses for a new electric car purchased and put into use for business in 2020. The actual expenses itemization provides Gasoline and Other Expenses as line items. Should I enter my electrical charging expense as "gasoline" or as "other expenses"?

[Critter-3]

It is neither ... it should be listed as an asset and be depreciated.  

[secorapearl]

If I were asking about the home charging station or the vehicle, then listing it as a depreciable asset would make sense. But clearly the kWh used to charge my vehicle are perhaps best seen as depletable though not depreciable assets.

[Critter-3]

Ok ... now you are talking about the electricity used to power the car ... if you have a separate meter or the ability to measure the extra usage for just the auto then that can be an other vehicle expense. 

[secorapearl · Accepted solution]

I suppose that either the "gasoline" or "other" category would work, though perhaps best not to muddy the waters by claiming a gasoline expense on an all electric vehicle, so "other".

However, I realized that since I have a home office expense, and the majority of my vehicle charging is done at my home charger, I need to be careful so as not to double dip on the electricity expense.

As I keep track of my business miles, I can use ChargePoint's estimate for kWh usage per mile, and I know my electric utility expenses per kWh, I can calculate the cost of those business miles in terms of electrical charging costs. Since these are a direct expense for my business travel, it seems best to itemize them.

However, as I already include a portion of my home electricity expense (inclusive of our ChargePoint home charger usage), the only way to avoid double dipping is to subtract the direct vehicle charging expense from the figure entered for home utilities, that are used to apportion home office expense. [A further complication is that mine is not the only electric vehicle in our household, complicating just how much of that "home" electricity expense is household/office usage, and how much is vehicle usage.]

It would seem the IRS should deal with this matter, as more electric vehicles hit the road (and more of the workforce works from home).

[Critter-3]

Correct ... you are on the right track ... just don't double dip.