Confused on the difference between business & Commuting miles for 1099-misc form

[IreneS · Accepted solution]

Generally, commuting is travel between your home and a work location. Commuting miles are a personal expense and are not deductible.

Business miles are incurred when you go from one workplace to another workplace and are a deductible expense. 

As an example:

• In a typical work day as a sales rep, you go from your home to your office.  - These are commuting miles.
• From your office, you travel to Client A, then to Client B, etc.  All of this mileage is considered business miles.
• From your last client you go home.  This, again, is commuting mileage and not deductible. 
  

If you are self-employed and your office is located in your home, you can deduct miles you travel to meet with business clients or perform other business-related functions.
If your office is located away from your home, you cannot deduct miles you travel to go to your office.

[jeremiahm96]

Found a helpful bit, (thanks smart people on the internet) pretty sure this checks out. 

"The IRS allows businesses to deduct expenses for business travel by owners and employees, but no deductions are allowed for commuting expenses. The rationale is that everyone commutes (travels to work), so commuting is not a business but a personal expense.

On the other hand, expenses for business travel are a business expense and therefore are deductible. The IRS makes a distinction between commuting and business travel; commuting expenses are allowed only in specific cases, while business travel expenses are usually allowed, within limits."

[tiki57]

If I have a home office and drop my child off at a sitter's on the way to a meeting with a client,  when do I start/stop tracking miles? 

[Sarge78]

I am a sales rep and have a home office.  I do not report to any office.   Are my miles to my first sales call considered business or commuting.  Do you have the IRS Code Section for that