Tag Archives: deductions

2013 Mileage Rates for Auto Use

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The IRS has published the 2013 mileage rates:

56.5 cents per mile for business use, thus perpetuating the IRS belief that somewhere out there is a half cent coin. For a tongue-in-cheek but useful article on business mileage, click here.

14 cents a mile for charitable use, unchanged from last year because everyone knows your car uses less gas when you drive it for charity.

24 cents a mile for medical and moving use. You can find this deduction discussed as part of my commonly overlooked medical deductions article.

The IRS Notice can be found here: 2012-72

Happy driving!

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-12-72.pdf

Tax Deductions for Auto Use (aka I Drive My Car For Work And Want Money For It)

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You drive to work, drive to lunch, drive to the post office, drive for your charity, drive to the doctor, drive kids to sports, drive to the computer, drive to bed… ok maybe not the last two. But it sure seems like there’s a lot of driving to be done if you don’t live in a big city like Jackson Township and Dover, Ohio.

With all this driving, what can be deducted?

People who work from home have it good. They have to drive exactly zero miles to get to work and it takes ten seconds to get there.  However, not everyone has it good. Many, many people have to drive to work, and daily traffic patterns say to as much. i.e. traffic jams.  Many people ask me, “Hey, can’t I deduct driving to and from work?” You can deduct a lot of different types of miles in different circumstances. 

Mileage While At Work

No matter what job we have, it seems at times we have to make trips in our car for various business reasons.  A run to the bank.  Meeting with people over lunch. Showing that house.  That mileage will count as business mileage because if you work more than two places in a day, you can count the expense from getting from one to the other.

Commuting

In general, a taxpayer’s daily transportation expenses incurred in going between the taxpayer’s home and a regular work location have long been considered nondeductible personal expenses.   Also known as sitting in traffic during blizzards, construction, and rubber necking motorists.  An important factor is where your work location is.  That is because there are a few exceptions.  Among them are:

Temporary Work Location – If you have at least one regular place of work, then transportation to a temporary work location may work if it is the same trade or business. Temporary generally means less than one year.  What constitutes a regular place of work can be squishy since it varies by circumstance.  Things to look at are is it short term and irregular? Or is it regular and long term?

One example the IRS has given is a doctor who visits several different offices and hospitals regularly by driving from his home to that location.  They said those places are his regular work locations and the commuting is not deductible.  (PLR 9806007) Also think of a construction subcontractor with no regular work location.  In that case the metropolitan area for all practical purposes is his regular work location and the distance from home to first work location in the area is nondeductible commuting.  Tricky isn’t it?
Home Office – In this case if you have a home office as the principle place of business, the miles from there to other work locations in that trade are deductible and wouldn’t be excluded.  Another hurrah for the work from home people! Hurrah!

The IRS has a great chart that illustrates this.  I’ve noticed most people do not deduct miles according to this IRS chart.  It may be wise to do so.

 IRS Business Mileage Picture1 Tax Deductions for Auto Use (aka I Drive My Car For Work And Want Money For It)

Some miles are deductible, and some miles are not!

 

Mileage vs. Actual

With the amount of times this issue keeps coming up you’d think this was a MMA championship match.  Its rigged though.  Mileage almost always wins.  This is mainly because people have a hard time keeping exact records of actual auto expenses. (This would be things like gas, oil, tires, etc.)  Most people keep track of miles.  Or at least they should.  How many of us have had good intentions, even put a notebook in the car, and found it five months later permanently bent into an MC Escher sculpture while trying to find a tissue in the glove compartment? The deduction can be especially valuable if you are self-employed. And if people saw how much money they would save by keeping a proper mileage record, I think everyone would do much better.

The mileage rate is changing all the time.  And sometimes they even split the mileage rate in the middle of the year like they did in 2011.  Nothing like adding confusion to the already confused.  But that’s the way it goes. On top of that it gets even more confusing if you need to switch from mileage to actual expenses.  You are not allowed to go the other way, however.

So it is likely we all have business miles at some point.  The way we deduct it, keep track of it, and when it is deductible can vary like moods of a teenager.  But if all the blocks fall into the right place, we can save a bundle on taxes

Top 5 Medical Deductions People Overlook

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Let’s face it, medical costs can eat up a large chunk of your money. And they are unpleasant to deal with and a general hassle. So here we are combining the topic of medical costs and taxation – I’m sure this article will be a laugh riot. But regardless, it is wise to take full advantage of any tax deductions that are available for medical costs. And who doesn’t want to save money? (Put your hand down and keep reading)

While the list of available deductions is very long, it may not be a deduction that helps everybody. That is because for a lot of medical deductions, they have to total more than 7.5% of your income before they start contributing to your itemized deductions. In 2013 that is scheduled to go to 10% for those under 65. And THEN your itemized deductions normally need to total more than your standard deduction. So there are some hoops to jump through to get a benefit from those medical bills! Flaming hoops with tigers and lions! Ok maybe not, but there are exceptions to those limits – including for Ohio, which are discussed below. Here are the top 5 items I commonly see people forget to include, or didn’t know they could deduct on their tax returns:

1. Dental and Eye Expenses

When people think medical deductions, they immediately think, doctors, hospitals, prescriptions, and co-pays. They seem to forget that their glasses, contacts, and dental expenses could be deductible as well!

sit right down 150x150 Top 5 Medical Deductions People Overlook

Don't forget dental expenses!

For dental expenses, don’t forget to consider cleaning, fluoride treatments, sealants, x-rays, fillings, braces, dentures, extractions and possibly others. Just because a dentist does it, however, doesn’t mean you can deduct it, so be sure to ask or check if there is a question.

For eye expenses, don’t forget to consider glasses, contact lenses, eye exams, and eye surgery – which can include laser eye surgery as well. There are a lot of things that an eye doctor can do and charge for so be sure to keep everything documented so you can go over it for your taxes.

Bottom line is, when you do your taxes, do a face check. Glasses? Contact lenses? Hearing aids? Dentures? Braces? Teeth? Eyes? There you go.

2. Health Insurance Premiums

OK, on the surface, people don’t normally forget this, because it is sometimes the largest item they pay for, but some people don’t realize it does not have to be subject to that 7.5% or 10% (2013) limitation. If you are self employed and not eligible to participate in a subsidized health plan through an employer of yours or your spouse, it is possible you can deduct all of your health insurance expense on your main 1040 form. The calculation is a little more complicated than that, but that is the basic gist of it. It’s worth planning for if you are eligible because it takes the deduction out of the itemized deductions game and reduces adjusted gross income, which can affect many other things on your tax return.

Ohio: Here again, if you aren’t eligible to participate in a subsidized plan, these medical costs could possibly be directly deducted if it wasn’t on your federal return.  In addition, if you have excess medical expenses over the 7.5% amount (or 10% in 2013 for some), these can be factored in, as well as long term care insurance premiums. It is very easy to miss this Ohio deduction, so even if your itemized deductions don’t look so promising for the federal return, don’t ignore them!

3. Medical Miles

road1 300x225 Top 5 Medical Deductions People Overlook

Many people miss the tax deduction for medical mileage

People know they can frequently deduct business miles of some sort. People also know they should keep a mileage log for those miles. But when it comes to medical miles, a lot of people completely forget about it. It is very common to have medical mileage, and if you are able to deduct medical expenses, you need to look at this hard. You can deduct expenses for the use of their own vehicle as medical transportation. The mileage rate for January 1 – June 30, 2011 was 19 cents, and it was 23.5 cents from July 1 – December 31, 2011. For 2012 it is set to be 23 cents. That may change as time passes. In addition to miles, don’t forget your parking fees and tolls. All it takes is good record keeping.

4. Chiropractors, Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Acupuncturists, Osteopathic Doctors, Physical Therapists, Podiatrists

Doctors can have different specialties, and that doesn’t mean what they do can’t qualify for a medical deduction to save money on your taxes. While there can be exceptions, it is a good idea to keep track of expenses from these often overlooked fields come tax time.

5. Crutches and Wheelchairs

So you broke your leg getting out of the bathtub and needed to get crutches. Fortunately, you do not have to disclose how you broke your leg. I do, however, recommend sharing it with me because we can all use a laugh during tax season. Now if you’ve ever broken your leg while preparing your taxes, that’s priceless.  Regardless, you can deduct the cost of crutches or if necessary a wheelchair. This can be a forgotten item if you are not careful. There are a myriad of other medical devices that are out there so be diligent and keep your records straight so no potential deduction is overlooked at tax time.

If medical expenses are a major item for you, it is a good idea to consider some tax planning. The amount of paperwork when dealing with health issues is astronomical. Also, it can be challenging getting all the information together and even knowing what to get together for tax purposes. It can get complicated because you could have insurance coverage, reimbursements, adjustments, timing issues, and other things coming into play. So it is best to start during the year and not at tax time to keep yourself organized and make sure nothing slips through the cracks! And as always, if you aren’t sure, ask. Everybody has unique situations. Check with a CPA for tax advice relating to your specific situation.

See? It wasn’t that bad. Maybe medical expenses and taxation were meant to go together. Like cottage cheese and ketchup. And you may just have saved taxes and learned something too! Thanks for reading and feel free to share.