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IRS Mileage Tips & Guide

By plrprousers | June 15, 2009

The IRS mileage rate as of January 2009 can be used to determine how much you should be allowed to claim as a deductible expense for operating a car or vehicle for business use, for medical use or for moving purposes.

Well, that means the IRS mileage for driving a car for business use is today calculated at 55 cents/mile driven.

Somehow, this amount drops to 24 cents/mile driven for any medical purposes. You are allowed to obtain the deduction of 14 cents/mile driven in the service of any charity.

Lots of people feel comfortable making the most of claiming for deductible expenses for vehicle use since the cost of fuel is creeping up again.

You should keep in mind that there are 2 ways to count deductible car costs when you’re counting your very own deductible expenses and factoring in the IRS mileage rate throughout the tax year.

The primary is the IRS mileage rate which by far the easiest process. The figure of 55 cents/mile driven for business use was calculated by basing estimates of the fixed plus variable costs of running a car.

For the vast majority of people using the IRS mileage rate can help to reduce your tax liability and increase the amount you’re potentially likely to claim in deductions.

On the other hand, the alternative choice for many business people is to determine the real expenses of running a car thru the year. This means keeping an accurate log-book to record all miles driven. It also means keeping all your receipts for fuel or servicing and maintenance costs. Along with any routine maintenance or repairs that may arise thru the year, so that insurance costs and registration should be included.

It can be burdensome on the paperwork side when you noting so many costs throughout the year, so that many people like to simply use the calculation for the IRS mileage rate. However if you’re willing to put up with a little inconvenience of keeping receipts and calculating the actual costs, you may find that your deductions outweigh the amount handed automatically by the IRS mileage rate.

You may speak to your accountant whether you should take advantage of the IRS mileage rate or the actual cost basis or keep running cost of your total cost for 3 months and then multiply that amount by four so that you will get estimation of how much you can claim in a year. If you’re unsure of which way to proceed, call the IRS and they’ll be able to assist you with any questions.

 

 

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