Tax options re: Personal vehicle used for business

I'm not an expert by any means so do your own double checks....

You can deduct unreimbursed exspenses, in this case mileage at the federal rate of .56/mile on Schedule A if you itemize. But it has to be higher than 2% of income to qualify. If she was a 1099 she would be able to directly deduct the costs.


ETA: Found this that lays it out pretty well.

LINK
I would be trying to get the employer to reimburse mileage.

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Unless, your wife had an understanding with the doc that she was basically being paid extra in respect to the fact that she does have to drive around.

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This is correct. She gave her a very nice compesation package (straight out of school), so I dont think my wife would be in line to ask for compensation from the doctor.

I appreciate the responses, the mileage is definately not higher than 2% of the annual income, so it looks like she is on her own. Its nothing terrible, I was just checking options.

Thanks again for your responses, I appreciate it

ETA: I might take that back. If I calculate 2% of 85k, I get $1700. At .56 cents/mile rate, that is roughly 3,000 miles per year.

Say she drives more than 3,000 miles next year, where do we stand?

Yes , correct she will need to keep a very detailed mileage log.

Keep a small notebook in the vehicle where you can write all the necessary information on a single line. Put a total at the bottom of each page or maybe each week/day to make it easier come tax time.

Will she need to log business and personal miles?

My employer provides me with a vehicle and gas card. I get taxed 5 cents per personal mile, but I only have to log personal miles and not business. (My situation is the opposite of my wifes, but I do have to keep detailed records of personal miles only).

She can deduct from Location B (first office location) to C (second office location) and from C to D and so on at 56 cents per mile driven.

She cannot deduct from A (Home) to B (first office location). Every single person goes from A to B. It is non-deductible.

She will take this deduction if you itemize on your personal tax return as an unreimbursed business expense on the Sch A. She needs to keep a daily log for tax record keeping purposes.

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Say she drives more than 3,000 miles next year, where do we stand?

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Well the first hurdle is that you have to have itemized deductions. Or, you have to have so much mileage above 2 percent that when you add in that additional mileage to your other expenses, you are now able to itemize.

You do have to track the mileage. Get a notebook. Or move into the 21st century and get an app that tracks it for you and allows you to export the data to a report.

You need to disclose total miles, but just write down the mileage on Jan 1 and Dec 31.

You can report the unreimbursed employee business expenses on Form 2106. These will typically include automobile expenses, using either actual expenses or the standard mileage rate, membership in professional organizations, professional licensing costs, continuing education costs, internet service costs, cell phone expenses and uniform costs if she wears clothing to work that is not appropriate for normal wear.

You may benefit from using actual expenses rather than the standard mileage rate if your wife's car is not economically friendly to operate. Actual expenses include vehicle registration costs, insurance, gasoline, maintenance and repairs, and depreciation.