Can I deduct gas I bought for my Lyft taxi business?

If you do have the option to choose, using the standard mileage method simplifies your recordkeeping. There's no need to keep gas receipts, repair bills, etc. You simply total your business miles for the year and apply the IRS mileage rate. For 2016, the standard mileage rate is 54 cents per mile. If you choose the standard method, we’ll calculate your mileage tax break for you.

If you’ve done a lot of work on your car and have quite a few repair or maintenance costs, you may consider the actual expenses choice instead. In order to choose this method, you’ll need to have all your receipts as well as your mileage for this vehicle.

If you choose the actual expenses method in the first year you used your car for work, you’ll need to stick with it for every year you use this vehicle for work and keep all your receipts for your records.

If you plan to deduct your vehicle expenses, the IRS requires you to have proof to show how many miles you’ve driven.

This could include a written mileage log book, a spreadsheet showing your mileage or a mileage tracking app on your phone.

We won’t ask you to provide this, but it’s a good idea to keep records of all your mileage and expenses.

For tax purposes, here are a few examples of what it means to own your car:

• You bought it for cash, so you don’t owe anything on it.
• You financed your car purchase, and you make monthly car payments.
• Someone gave you this car, and now you own it.

In order to get the vehicle deduction, make sure you’ve entered all your work-related mileage for 2016.

Your total work mileage can include:
• Travel between work sites
• Work-related errands
• Driving to and from the airport or train station, or other work-related car travel
• Driving to visit customers or clients

Do not include your commuting miles. This means the miles you drove from home to your workplace and back. If your home office is your primary workplace, you won't have any commuting miles.