| The Mileage Tax Deduction Can Save You a Lot of | | | | have expected in the past. The driving you do to earn |
| Money | | | | a living is a significant cost and Congress has |
| How often are you driving for work, as a volunteer or | | | | recognized the importance of this deduction as a vital |
| perhaps even moving? Would you say that nearly all | | | | means for people to continue to pursue their incomes. |
| of your driving is done for one of these reasons? If | | | | The tax code requires only that expenses are ordinary |
| not, consider, the times you leave the office for | | | | and necessary. It is not required that you show that |
| business reasons, or if you work from home, leave | | | | the specific reasons for the expense are also ordinary |
| and return home for business reasons. What about | | | | and necessary - only that the expenses are both. So, |
| those trips you take if you haul the kids' baseball team | | | | for example, if you work from home and will be |
| somewhere - or help out at your church? | | | | needing new paper for your printer in the near future, |
| All of these miles that you drive are deductible for tax | | | | but decide to pick it up while you are out grocery |
| purposes. As of July 1, 2008, the standard rate is also | | | | shopping, both the expense for the paper itself, and |
| increased to $0.585 per mile ($0.19 for volunteer and | | | | driving to where you purchase it are deductible - wow! |
| moving miles). The IRS does require logs of miles to be | | | | Since the mileage expense to drive to the office |
| kept for your records - and in case of an audit. You | | | | supply store is ordinary and necessary, the mileage is |
| may find that by keeping logs up-to-date, at the end of | | | | deductible - in spite of the personal purchases you |
| the year you will have significantly more miles | | | | made while shopping. You have just converted an |
| accounted for deduction purposes than if you are | | | | otherwise non-deductible trip to the store into a fully |
| more lax in your record keeping. | | | | deductible business trip. There are many other |
| The cost of driving a vehicle has skyrocketed in the | | | | opportunities available to you that you may not have |
| past few years. Gasoline costs alone carve into | | | | thought about to take advantage of this deduction. |
| business and household budgets in ways you could not | | | | |