Question

I have a job that pays my mileage when I use my vehicle and another job that doesn’t so I have to check my miles. How Do I file my taxes for both of those different jobs?

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
May 30, 2024
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I have a full-time job that pays me mileage as an independent contractor. I also do Uber on the side, which I tracked my miles for so I can deduct expenses when filing my taxes my question is do those both jobs do I deduct expenses from one and not the other, how do II have a full-time job that pays me mileage as a independent contractor. I also do Uber on the side, which I tracked my miles for so I can deduct expenses when filing my taxes my question is do those both jobs do I deduct expenses from one and not the other, how do I explain, these details to prepare for them to do them correctly. Those two jobs are the same but differently and the mileage perspective.

TurboTax Online

O

Opus 17

Employee

You should file two separate schedule Cs for your independent contractor jobs, keeping all expenses and income separate.

Let's do Uber first. You report your gross income, and you can deduct personal vehicle expenses using the standard mileage method or the exact expense method, as described in chapter 4 of publication 463.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p463.pdf

The standard mileage method requires less detailed records and results in a higher reimbursement for most workers unless your vehicle is brand new or very expensive.

As an independent contractor for customer #1 (you don't "have a job" if you are an independent contractor, you are a business providing a service for your clients), your client can either reimburse you based on an accountable plan (where you prove exact miles with records), or a non-accountable plan.

If an accountable plan, you do not report the mileage reimbursement as part of your gross income unless it is more than the IRS standard rate. (If they pay more than the IRS standard rate, the difference must be included as part of your gross taxable income even if it is not on your 1099-NEC.) You also do not list your miles as a deductible expense. It's not taxable income and not a deduction.

If they use a non-accountable plan (you are not required to prove mileage with records), then the amount of the reimbursement is included in your gross business income on schedule C, even if it is not included in your 1099-NEC. You then can list your miles at the standard mileage rate, or your actual vehicle expenses, using the methods mentioned above. You can deduct your mileage against the income if you have records to prove it.

You must separately track the mileage for your two different jobs and report them separately on two different schedule C businesses along with any other separate income and expenses.

I

irv2323Author

Hello, thank you for responding so they need to file them as each individual job separately correct also, what do you mean by non-accountable plan and accountable plan? How do you verify that which is the full-time job pays me the IRS highest standard rate of mileage compensation which that doesn’t come out on our Tax form at the end of the year basically we just tracked the mileage. Write it on the log at the end of the pay period and they compensate with separate check apart from hourly checks. So basically, if you can explain a little more what non-accountable and accountable means and how I could be able to verify, which is which or what I have and second of all even if I get paid mileage, do I need to track my miles? For tax purposes I do it for one job, but not for the other per se

O

Opus 17

Employee

"Write it on the log at the end of the pay period and they compensate with separate check apart from hourly checks."

OK, that's either a misunderstanding or illegal.

Your main job is as a W-2 employee? They can't legally also pay you as an independent contractor. All compensation from working must be included as taxable wages on your W-2. Also, as a W-2 employee, you are not allowed to deduct mileage expenses on your tax return.

Accountable and non-accountable plans for mileage reimbursement are defined in publication 463 that I linked to earlier. An accountable plan is where you prove (account for) your mileage claim with some kind of reliable record.

As a W-2 employee, your company can choose whether or not, and how, to reimburse your mileage. They are not required to by law (although it might be in your contract or a company policy). They can pay any amount they want. This is how employee reimbursements are supposed to be handled by the company:

If the company has an accountable plan and they pay less than the IRS standard rate	The reimbursement is not taxable to you	You can not take a tax deduction for the difference between the company reimbursement and the IRS rate
If the company has an accountable plan and they pay equal to the IRS standard rate	The reimbursement is not taxable to you	You have been reimbursed, no further action is needed
If the company has an accountable plan and they pay more to the IRS standard rate	The excess reimbursement must be added to your W-2 wages	You can't take any deductions
If the company has a non-accountable plan and they pay any amount for mileage	the entire mileage reimbursement must be included in your W-2 wages	You can't take any deductions

It is up to the company to determine if they have an accountable or non-accountable plan.

Your reimbursement should never be reported on a 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC form. If they follow the rules to make it non-taxable, it is not reported on any tax form. If they follow the rules to make it taxable, it must be included in your W-2 wages and is subject to withholding of federal, state, social security and medicare taxes.