I am a independent courier. I start from home then go pick up/drop off packages in different areas. A month later I had a warehouse route what counts as commuting miles?

[trackcamp]

My days always start from home where I used my personal vehicle and received jobs from dispatch on my phone to go pick up/drop off packages from various locations and returned home when finished. A month later I had consistent route in a different city where I would travel to a warehouse to pick up car parts and deliver to certain shops.

Would the warehouse be commuting miles or would all of it be business miles since I start from home?

[HelenaC · Accepted solution]

Since you are an Independent Contractor (self-employed), you don't have commuting miles, since your place of business, is your home. Keep track of your business miles from your home.

This TurboTax FAQ maybe helpful: What self-employed expenses can I deduct?

If you are self-employed (Schedule C), enter/edit your vehicle's mileage:

• Type vehicle expenses, self-employed business in the search/find box and click search.
• Click on Jump to vehicle expenses, self-employed business.
• Edit your business.
• At the 'Your xxxx Business' screen, scroll down to Business Expenses.
• Click start/update next to Business Vehicle Expense.
• Continue with the onscreen interview until you get to the 'How Do You Want to Enter Your Mileage for your vehicle'.  

[trackcamp]

Thanks for the answer Helena! Just to be 100% sure that I understand. For example, I travel from Home to Driver Warehouse (30miles) I do the warehouse route for several hours (100miles) then travel Home (30miles) would be all business miles? So the "driver warehouse" isn't a temporary work location because I'm self employed despite doing that work for a couple of months consistently?

[HelenaC]

Correct, it is all business miles. For example, Newspaper delivery drivers have a set route but because they are self-employed, their mileage is deductible from the time they leave home and start driving (for business).

Temporary work location relates to a W-2 employee and their expenses would be reported on form 2106.

[trackcamp]

Or to sum it up since I start from home and have to accept a job to travel to pick up a package and drop it off it's all business miles?

[HelenaC]

Yes.

[trackcamp]

Thank you so much!

[HelenaC]

You're very welcome.

[HelpmeetLetters]

How about from the drop off point going home? Will that be business miles as well?

[JohnW222]

As long as this is part of your self-employment mileage (as opposed to personal mileage), and your situation matches the scenario of the previous poster, then, yes, this would be deductible.

[lilnikki09]

Anyone able to answer this. I work for Instacart, and after reading through the question and comments, I understand that I can deduct my miles from home, to the store, and from the last delivery to home. But what about if I'm already out after doing an errand,  I accept an order, and drive to the store. Can I deduct the miles from where I was at, to the store?

[DMarkM1]

It depends.  You would deduct the lesser of the miles from your errand location to the pickup or the miles from the last delivery to the next pickup.