Claiming mileage

[Chiropteran]

Leave your car parked at home and carpool to work. Then tell your boss you need the company to pay for a cab ride home so you can get your car to drive to the client.

 

[spacejamz]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Originally posted by: DomS
you're getting free food? I'd keep quiet.

I don't plan any claiming any lunches since I would have had to buy lunch if I would have gone into the office...

I started driving out there in June and didn't claim any of lunchs when I was out there (although 2 of the 4 weeks I was out there, lunch was provided for us anyway)...

You make no sense. You won't claim lunch as an expense when you're onsite of a client but you want to be compensated above the 20 miles for going to the client's location.

I just think that any miles/wear and tear on my car above my normal commute to work should be 'claimable'...it isn't about the money (which would be around $120 a month). As I stated earlier, it is more a principle thing since the company is going 'green' but now chooses to 'penalize' me by not allowing me to claim the miles I save by carpooling.

I am not going to get blacklisted by corporate as this is just a 'friendly' challenge between me and the boss...see earlier post about this...

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: MixMasterTang
The IRS would let you deduct the whole 60 miles on your taxes, but what your employer reimburses you will differ. Give me a minute and I'll link the appropriate information from the IRS.

if the IRS allows all 60 miles i'm going to guess that what he gets is 20 miles reimbursement and then deduct the other 40, assuming he itemizes.

 

[MixMasterTang]

Just for reference here is the information from the IRS on non-deductible commutes vs deductible mileage.

Examples of deductible transportation. The following examples show when you can deduct transportation expenses based on the location of your work and your home.

Example 1.

You regularly work in an office in the city where you live. Your employer sends you to a one-week training session at a different office in the same city. You travel directly from your home to the training location and return each day. You can deduct the cost of your daily round-trip transportation between your home and the training location.

Example 2.

Your principal place of business is in your home. You can deduct the cost of round-trip transportation between your qualifying home office and your client's or customer's place of business.

Example 3.

You have no regular office, and you do not have an office in your home. In this case, the location of your first business contact is considered your office. Transportation expenses between your home and this first contact are nondeductible commuting expenses. Transportation expenses between your last business contact and your home are also nondeductible commuting expenses. Although you cannot deduct the costs of these first and last trips, you can deduct the costs of going from one client or customer to another.

Edit: Figure 26-B is probably the most relevant to you.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: MixMasterTang
The IRS would let you deduct the whole 60 miles on your taxes, but what your employer reimburses you will differ. Give me a minute and I'll link the appropriate information from the IRS.

if the IRS allows all 60 miles i'm going to guess that what he gets is 20 miles reimbursement and then deduct the other 40, assuming he itemizes.

The IRS would only allow him to deduct the 20 miles (commute beyond his normal commute to his normal office).

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Originally posted by: DomS
you're getting free food? I'd keep quiet.

I don't plan any claiming any lunches since I would have had to buy lunch if I would have gone into the office...

I started driving out there in June and didn't claim any of lunchs when I was out there (although 2 of the 4 weeks I was out there, lunch was provided for us anyway)...

You make no sense. You won't claim lunch as an expense when you're onsite of a client but you want to be compensated above the 20 miles for going to the client's location.

I just think that any miles/wear and tear on my car above my normal commute to work should be 'claimable'...it isn't about the money (which would be around $120 a month). As I stated earlier, it is more a principle thing since the company is going 'green' but now chooses to 'penalize' me by not allowing me to claim the miles I save by carpooling.

I am not going to get blacklisted by corporate as this is just a 'friendly' challenge between me and the boss...see earlier post about this...

Sorry but your company does not compensate you currently for commuting to your normal office, why should it now compensate you b/c you are now carpooling to it? You are only able to be reimbursed for 20 miles which is beyond your normal commute to go to the client's location.

Your argument is beyond weak. Your boss must have a good sense of humor to put up with you.

 

[MixMasterTang]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: MixMasterTang
The IRS would let you deduct the whole 60 miles on your taxes, but what your employer reimburses you will differ. Give me a minute and I'll link the appropriate information from the IRS.

if the IRS allows all 60 miles i'm going to guess that what he gets is 20 miles reimbursement and then deduct the other 40, assuming he itemizes.

The IRS would only allow him to deduct the 20 miles (commute beyond his normal commute to his normal office).

Please read info at http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch26.html and look at Figure 26-B and tell me where you came up with that.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
i dont see the twist, the policy is pretty clear. you get to claim 20 miles for each trip you take out there. dont overcomplicate it. or be greedy.

How do you not see the twist? The twist is that this is a situation that was clearly not envisioned when the policy was written.

 

[phonefreak]

Well I think you should get the full 60 but if the boss does not, my opinion and your opinion really do not matter.

 

[spacejamz]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
Sorry but your company does not compensate you currently for commuting to your normal office, why should it now compensate you b/c you are now carpooling to it? You are only able to be reimbursed for 20 miles which is beyond your normal commute to go to the client's location.

Your argument is beyond weak. Your boss must have a good sense of humor to put up with you.

I know the company doesn't compensate for my 'normal' commute of 200 miles each month.

However, I think they should compensate me for the additional 200 miles that I put on my car because I have to travel to a client site...

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: MixMasterTang

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: MixMasterTang
The IRS would let you deduct the whole 60 miles on your taxes, but what your employer reimburses you will differ. Give me a minute and I'll link the appropriate information from the IRS.

if the IRS allows all 60 miles i'm going to guess that what he gets is 20 miles reimbursement and then deduct the other 40, assuming he itemizes.

The IRS would only allow him to deduct the 20 miles (commute beyond his normal commute to his normal office).

Please read info at http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch26.html and look at Figure 26-B and tell me where you came up with that.

Text version of Figure 26-B

Between regular or main job and temporary work location, Always deductible.

That's 20 miles.

 

[dullard]

Sure, have your employer change that policy from 20 miles to 60 miles. That is fine. But don't complain if he/she also changes how much they pay you from $0.59 to $0.19 at the same time.

 

[spacejamz]

Originally posted by: dullard
Sure, have your employer change that policy from 20 miles to 60 miles. That is fine. But don't complain if he/she also changes how much they pay you from $0.59 to $0.19 at the same time.

$0.59 is the standard rate mileage rate set by the IRS, so I, along with any other employee who claims mileage would complain...

It went up from $0.51 to $0.59 on July 1, 2008...

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Normally, I work out of an office located 20 miles from home. However, I was assigned to a special project that requires me to drive to a client's site once a week that is 30 miles from home.

Our corporate policy is that you only claim mileage greater than would your normal drive to work would have been, which I totally agree with. FWIW, the reimbursement for mileage is $0.59/mile, so claiming 60 miles (roundtrip) is about $35 each time I drive out there.

However, I carpool to work with 3 other people, so I only drive to work one week out of the month (4 total people in car pool so we each drive one week out of the month). In my opinion, I should be able to claim the full 60 miles three out every four weeks since I would not have had to drive to the office those weeks because of the carpool. My boss still wants me to claim only 20 miles (10 mile difference each way on the roundtrip to the client)...

I used the example of someone who rides the bus to work everyday. Since they never drive their car to office, should this person claim 20 miles or 60 miles? I say 60 miles since that is 60 extra miles they are putting on their car because of work but my boss says 20.

I will talk to my boss about this again tomorrow, but just wanted other opinions...it is more of a principle issue to me, especially when the company is just starting a 'green' initiative which includes promoting carpooling...

so what do you guys think?

Someone who rode the bus all 60 miles would recieve 0 compensation... as this is only for miles driven in your own vehicle. The company is responsible to reimburse you for mileage put on your vehicle only above and beyond what you would normally travel to and from work.

 

[spacejamz]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman

Originally posted by: MixMasterTang

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: MixMasterTang
The IRS would let you deduct the whole 60 miles on your taxes, but what your employer reimburses you will differ. Give me a minute and I'll link the appropriate information from the IRS.

if the IRS allows all 60 miles i'm going to guess that what he gets is 20 miles reimbursement and then deduct the other 40, assuming he itemizes.

The IRS would only allow him to deduct the 20 miles (commute beyond his normal commute to his normal office).

Please read info at http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch26.html and look at Figure 26-B and tell me where you came up with that.

Text version of Figure 26-B

Between regular or main job and temporary work location, Always deductible.

That's 20 miles.

My home is between work and the client site...the distance between work and client site is about 50 miles. I won't be trying to claim that distance...

 

[spacejamz]

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Normally, I work out of an office located 20 miles from home. However, I was assigned to a special project that requires me to drive to a client's site once a week that is 30 miles from home.

Our corporate policy is that you only claim mileage greater than would your normal drive to work would have been, which I totally agree with. FWIW, the reimbursement for mileage is $0.59/mile, so claiming 60 miles (roundtrip) is about $35 each time I drive out there.

However, I carpool to work with 3 other people, so I only drive to work one week out of the month (4 total people in car pool so we each drive one week out of the month). In my opinion, I should be able to claim the full 60 miles three out every four weeks since I would not have had to drive to the office those weeks because of the carpool. My boss still wants me to claim only 20 miles (10 mile difference each way on the roundtrip to the client)...

I used the example of someone who rides the bus to work everyday. Since they never drive their car to office, should this person claim 20 miles or 60 miles? I say 60 miles since that is 60 extra miles they are putting on their car because of work but my boss says 20.

I will talk to my boss about this again tomorrow, but just wanted other opinions...it is more of a principle issue to me, especially when the company is just starting a 'green' initiative which includes promoting carpooling...

so what do you guys think?

Someone who rode the bus all 60 miles would recieve 0 compensation... as this is only for miles driven in your own vehicle. The company is responsible to reimburse you for mileage put on your vehicle only above and beyond what you would normally travel to and from work.

your reply doesn't make sense...If you normally put zero miles on your car and now you have to put 60 miles a day because of work, you just stated that company is responsible for anything above the normal mileage of zero.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Originally posted by: dullard
Sure, have your employer change that policy from 20 miles to 60 miles. That is fine. But don't complain if he/she also changes how much they pay you from $0.59 to $0.19 at the same time.

$0.59 is the standard rate mileage rate set by the IRS, so I, along with any other employee who claims mileage would complain...

It went up from $0.51 to $0.59 on July 1, 2008...

That's the rate for tax deductions; I don't believe companies are required to reimburse that amount, although most do. So you could complain, but you'd just look like a complainer and it wouldn't accomplish anything. Pretty much like what's happening right now. It would be fair for you to be reimbursed based on your normal commute (200 miles per month), but sometimes life isn't fair.

 

[MixMasterTang]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman

Originally posted by: MixMasterTang

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: MixMasterTang
The IRS would let you deduct the whole 60 miles on your taxes, but what your employer reimburses you will differ. Give me a minute and I'll link the appropriate information from the IRS.

if the IRS allows all 60 miles i'm going to guess that what he gets is 20 miles reimbursement and then deduct the other 40, assuming he itemizes.

The IRS would only allow him to deduct the 20 miles (commute beyond his normal commute to his normal office).

Please read info at http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch26.html and look at Figure 26-B and tell me where you came up with that.

Text version of Figure 26-B

Between regular or main job and temporary work location, Always deductible.

That's 20 miles.

That would only apply if he went to his normal work location first, and then to the client site. Otherwise

Between home and temporary work location, Deductible if you have a regular or main job at another location

 

[BurnItDwn]

Where I work, you claim the difference in mileage that you drive.
The amount I claim is the amount of extra wear and tear on my vehicle.

If I took the train to work normally, and the distance was 20 miles, but I didn't drive, then I'd compare whatever distance I had to drive to 0.

If you carpool and ride in somebody else's car 3 weeks of the month, then you don't drive or put wear and tear on your vehicle 3 weeks of the month. Thus, it's just like taking the train or public transportation. You should claim 60 miles for 3 weeks and 20 miles for the fourth week.


That said, I don't know if there are any laws that dictate this policy, and your company may do things differently than we do here, and I'm sure if there are laws for this, they probably vary by state .... Seems like the way we do things here is pretty common sense to me though and it's very fair.

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Normally, I work out of an office located 20 miles from home. However, I was assigned to a special project that requires me to drive to a client's site once a week that is 30 miles from home.

Our corporate policy is that you only claim mileage greater than would your normal drive to work would have been, which I totally agree with. FWIW, the reimbursement for mileage is $0.59/mile, so claiming 60 miles (roundtrip) is about $35 each time I drive out there.

However, I carpool to work with 3 other people, so I only drive to work one week out of the month (4 total people in car pool so we each drive one week out of the month). In my opinion, I should be able to claim the full 60 miles three out every four weeks since I would not have had to drive to the office those weeks because of the carpool. My boss still wants me to claim only 20 miles (10 mile difference each way on the roundtrip to the client)...

I used the example of someone who rides the bus to work everyday. Since they never drive their car to office, should this person claim 20 miles or 60 miles? I say 60 miles since that is 60 extra miles they are putting on their car because of work but my boss says 20.

I will talk to my boss about this again tomorrow, but just wanted other opinions...it is more of a principle issue to me, especially when the company is just starting a 'green' initiative which includes promoting carpooling...

so what do you guys think?

Someone who rode the bus all 60 miles would recieve 0 compensation... as this is only for miles driven in your own vehicle. The company is responsible to reimburse you for mileage put on your vehicle only above and beyond what you would normally travel to and from work.

your reply doesn't make sense...If you normally put zero miles on your car and now you have to put 60 miles a day because of work, you just stated that company is responsible for anything above the normal mileage of zero.

NONONONONONONO.....

If your commute to work is 20 miles. Regardless if you walk, ride, bike, drive or carpool, you are responsible for the first 20 miles of daily commute.

Now if you drive your vehicle to a temporary alternate work site 30 miles away, your responsibility is that same 20 miles. Theirs is the reminaing 10.

If someone else drives you to a temporary work site 30 miles away, but you get NO reimbursement, because you didnt use your personal vehicle. Only the owner of the vehicle is entitled to the reimbursement for 10 miles. Not you.

Finally if you would take a bus to the alternate site and you pay 3 dollars for the entire 30 mile commute. The companies responsibility for your commute is $1. The first 20 miles are still your responsibility.

 

[Chiropteran]

What if you are working from home, and then your boss tells you you have to drive to a client site?

 

[Wonderful Pork]

Originally posted by: Chiropteran
What if you are working from home, and then your boss tells you you have to drive to a client site?

If you have a quailfying home office, then you can deduct/claim the entire trip. if you're just working from home on the couch, you can deduct/claim the difference.

Example 1. You regularly work in an office in the city where you live. Your employer sends you to a one-week training session at a different office in the same city. You travel directly from your home to the training location and return each day. You can deduct the cost of your daily round-trip transportation between your home and the training location.

Example 2. Your principal place of business is in your home. You can deduct the cost of round-trip transportation between your qualifying home office and your client's or customer's place of business.

Example 3. You have no regular office, and you do not have an office in your home. In this case, the location of your first business contact is considered your office. Transportation expenses between your home and this first contact are nondeductible commuting expenses. Transportation expenses between your last business contact and your home are also nondeductible commuting expenses. Although you cannot deduct the costs of these first and last trips, you can deduct the costs of going from one client or customer to another.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Originally posted by: dullard
Sure, have your employer change that policy from 20 miles to 60 miles. That is fine. But don't complain if he/she also changes how much they pay you from $0.59 to $0.19 at the same time.

$0.59 is the standard rate mileage rate set by the IRS, so I, along with any other employee who claims mileage would complain...

It went up from $0.51 to $0.59 on July 1, 2008...

There is absolutely no law or regulation forcing them to use the IRS mileage rate.

 

[Chiropteran]

And what if your office is in the opposite direction?

Office 10 miles west of home, client site 20 miles east of office.

If you go directly to the client site, it's only a 10 mile trip but you can't reimburse any of it, while if you drive to work first it's a 30 mile trip total and 20 miles are reimbursable? It all seems pretty backwards if you ask me.

 

[Wonderful Pork]

Originally posted by: Chiropteran
And what if your office is in the opposite direction?

Office 10 miles west of home, client site 20 miles east of office.

If you go directly to the client site, it's only a 10 mile trip but you can't reimburse any of it, while if you drive to work first it's a 30 mile trip total and 20 miles are reimbursable? It all seems pretty backwards if you ask me.

why is that backwards? You cannot deduct mileage for work if it is less than or equal to the normal round trip commute distance between your home and work. If you go to work, then you have fulfilled your normal commute, you can deduct the entire amount of extra miles you drove. If you went to home from the clients, you can only deduct the difference between your normal round trip commute and the extra.

The real question is, what if the client is 1/2 way between home and work, and you stop by after going to work (or on the way to work)...do you claim mileage then?