I am a self employed carpenter and work all over the place. This is the first year I am self employed. I always come back home and store my equipment and thats where I do my phone calls and paperwork. Can I call my home my principal place of work and deduct the mileage even if I'm only working there a small part of the day? A friend of mine said I had to have a office to deduct the mileage and there cannot be any personal stuff in it. Is this true?
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You can only deduct your mileage from your home if it is a qualified home office. This means it is used regularly & EXCLUSIVELY for business. The IRS is very strict about the exclusively. See IRS Pub 587 - Business Use of Your Home for more info.
Otherwise mileage from your home to your first place of work is considered commuting. If you leave Job #1 and go to Job #2 during the day, that is business mileage. -
Exclusive use
This test is met if an area of the home is only used for business. It can be a room or other separately identifiable space. The space does not need to be marked off by a permanent partition.
MattI would put a favorite quote in here, but it would get me banned from the board.Comment
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Although
if it was marked off that would HELP. Maybe in RED paint or should it be BLACK??Comment
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Red or Black?
Red if your business is losing money, Black if it is profitable.I would put a favorite quote in here, but it would get me banned from the board.Comment
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