Q&A (back to index)
Commuting vs. business mileage
Posted by Anonymous on 03/17/2009 - 17:37
I know that commuting expenses are not deductible. So, lawyer goes from home to firm, not deductible. Lawyer goes from firm to courthouse, deductible. What if Lawyer goes from home to client to firm -- all deductible, or only the part of the trip between the client and the firm? The revenue rulings are very unclear on this.
Jack Parsons
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Commuting
If you have a regular place of business, going from your home to a temporary workplace, such as visiting a client, is a deductible transportation expense. The mileage from the client to the firm is also deductible. The chart on page 182 of Pub. 17 is very clear on this. I'm surprised at how many people get this wrong.
Collin Versich, EAMinnesota
commute v travel deduction
Ok, I just got confused. Does the IRS indicate if you are commuting and stop en route at a client's then the mileage from the client to the main office is still considered commuting since you did not go out of your way and you would have commuted the same miles any way? So no deduction?
Mileage
The mileage from home to client is not deductible, and the mileage from client to firm is. Client is considered to be workplace in this case. For mileage from home to client to be deductible, home would have to be the main place of business, and that is not the case - firm is the main place of business.
Does that help?
Combining commute and business mileage in AZ
The State of Arizona has a policy for employee mileage reimbursement of business trips. The mileage from my home to office is known, so it can be deducted from the total mileage when a business stop is made en route to or from the office. If the business is on the route to my office, I incurred no extra cost, and receive no mileage reimbursement. If I go on an audit in a direction opposite my office, I receive only the excess over my normal commute mileage; I didn't make the commute that would otherwise have been made.