Can I deduct 960 miles driven from home to motel & back for a 2 week work assignment?

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
March 8, 2023
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Hello,

Can I deduct 960 miles driven from my home to a motel & back for a 2 week work assignment (on Schedule C Line 9 under "Car and Truck Expenses") ?

I am just double-checking. I think the answer is "Yes." As an independent contractor, I drove from my home in my own car to a work assignment that lasted two weeks. The assignment was in a town 960 miles from my house. The company I was working for payed for lodging in an extended stay motel in the town. I also used my own car to drive to different sites in the town where I was working and kept a record of that mileage. The company reimbursed me for mileage, but only 18 cents per mile. Under the last Federal guidelines for the last 6 months of 2022, the rate is 62.5 cents per mile, a difference of 44.5 cents per mile. I have records of the 960 miles out and back and also of the driving while in the town I worked.

In looking at IRS "Topic No. 511 Business Travel Expenses" (Last Reviewed or Updated: 06-Oct-2022) says: "Deductible travel expenses while away from home include, but aren't limited to, the costs of:
1. Travel by airplane, train, bus or car between your home and your business destination."

So I think I can deduct, as a Business Expense, the 960 miles x 62.5 cents ($600) from the Gross Income for the 2 weeks worth of work (in Line 7 of Schedule C), correct? (My "Gross Income" includes the amount the company already reimbursed paid me for mileage at 18 cents per mile.)

Thank you.

Mel

Business Expenses

MelWetzgerAuthor

Employee

Sorry, a minor error: the town is 480 miles from my house, so the round trip is 960 miles.

Mel

AmyC

Employee

Yes, you can deduct all the miles and then enter reimbursement for the program to create the final vehicle expense. Don't forget about food, I prefer the GSA rates for ease in determining your meals and incidental expenses.

See:

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MelWetzgerAuthor

Employee

Thanks Amy,

But I realized that I cannot actually deduct my miles, because I only worked for that 2 week period in 2022 (I am semi-retired) and I did not work near where I live. So the place I traveled to is my "Tax Home." More specifically, as IRS Topic 511 Business Travel Expenses states:

"Generally, your tax home is the entire city or general area where your main place of business or work is
located, regardless of where you maintain your family home. For example, you live with your family in
Chicago but work in Milwaukee where you stay in a hotel and eat in restaurants. You return to Chicago every
weekend. You may not deduct any of your travel, meals or lodging in Milwaukee because that's your tax
home. Your travel on weekends to your family home in Chicago isn't for your work, so these expenses are
also not deductible. If you regularly work in more than one place, your tax home is the general area where
your main place of business or work is located."

Thanks again, however,

Mel