I am a farm worker who received a form 1099-misc. Can I deduct the mileage I drove from my home to the farm and back home on Schedule C Line 9?

[srengel]

I am a farm worker who received a form 1099-misc. Can I deduct the mileage I drove from my home to the farm and back home on Schedule C Line 9? I also used the vehicle for personal purposes in 2016.

[Patrice]

Yes, the mileage you drove from your home to the farm can be deducted on your Schedule C.  As an independent contractor you are considered self employed by the IRS. You have the choice of two methods, to claim vehicle expenses. The first option is mileage. You can deduct the miles driven for business. The other option is claiming all your actual expenses such as gas, tires, interest, etc.  In TurboTax, you will be able to allocate your personal use of the vehicle versus your business use of the vehicle and TurboTax will help you determine the amount of  business vehicle related expenses you are eligible to deduct.

Follow the steps below to input your mileage information. 

1. Sign in to your return, select Federal Taxes; Wages & Income, then I'll choose what I work on.

2. Scroll to the section 1099_MISC and Other Common Income, select the start or update button, next to the line Income from Form 1099-MISC. 

3. Follow the questions and prompts to input the 1099-Misc; and reason for receiving it. 

4. Proceed with answering the initial questions about your income, cell phone, then your vehicle. Input the date you began using your vehicle, the make & model, and type of vehicle. Answer the questions about your vehicle and about your mileage records.

5. Enter the total miles driven for the year, and the miles driven for business purposes. Input any additional auto related expenses such as your registration fee cost, parking fees, toll charges, etc. It will show the amount of your mileage deduction.

[KathrynInHouston]

Seems to me like commuting, which is not deductible.  

[RobertG]

Commute from home to work is not deductible, even if you are an independent contractor.

Daily transportation expenses you incur while traveling from home to one or more regular places of business are generally nondeductible commuting expenses. 

However, there may be exceptions to this general rule. You can deduct daily transportation expenses incurred going between your residence and a temporary work station outside the metropolitan area where you live. Also, daily transportation expenses can be deducted if you have one or more regular work locations away from your residence.

Examples of deductible transportation.

The following examples show when you can deduct transportation expenses based on the location of your work and your home.

Example 1.

You regularly work in an office in the city where you live. Your employer sends you to a 1-week training session at a different office in the same city. You travel directly from your home to the training location and return each day. You can deduct the cost of your daily round-trip transportation between your home and the training location.

Example 2.

Your principal place of business is in your home. You can deduct the cost of round-trip transportation between your qualifying home office and your client's or customer's place of business.

Example 3.

You have no regular office, and you don’t have an office in your home. In this case, the location of your first business contact inside the metropolitan area is considered your office. Transportation expenses between your home and this first contact are nondeductible commuting expenses. Transportation expenses between your last business contact and your home are also nondeductible commuting expenses. While you can’t deduct the costs of these trips, you can deduct the costs of going from one client or customer to another.

[RD37]

How about the mileage required for the farmer (who owns the farm) who must drive to the farm routinely (from his home) to feed and otherwise manage the herd?

[DawnC]

No, commuting miles (to and from a regular work location) are not and have never been deductible.  If you operate your business from somewhere other than your home, you can't deduct the miles you drive to that location – they're considered commuting miles.   (For example, you own your own farm, and go there regularly to work.  That is commuting and thus not deductible.)  @RD37 

[RD37]

Wouldn't the home be considered the office?  Moreover, the farmer may use a work truck exclusively for farming purposes so if your statement is accurate, would the farmer instead use actual costs (gas, depreciation, etc.) instead of mileage, which would inherently include costs associated with the aforesaid drive to the farm?

[Vanessa A]

No.  When you are using the actual expense method, you still need to enter your miles driven for work and miles driven for personal use.  So, if the farmer drives 10,000 miles in a year and 4,000 of those miles are for personal  use, he can only deduct 60% of the expenses associated with the truck.  So, if he spent $2,000 for fuel in that truck, he would only be able to deduct $1,200 of the fuel cost. 

The farm would be his regular work location, this is strictly commuting.  Even if he has an office in his home, the drive from the home to the primary work location where the activity occurs that makes the money, would be considered commuting.  If he drove to Rural King to pick up fence panels, that would be considered deductible business miles. 

Business Mileage Deduction

[RD37]

Thanks for the input.  S0 the miles driven after arriving at the location for the day are what counts, i.e., trips back to and from the farm to get supplies, tools, etc., trips to the feed store, required driving around in the pasture to check on the animals, etc.  

[AbrahamT]

Absolutely!