Sch C travel

[Possi]

My pilot has an office in home for the business of taking jumpers up in the plane. He drives long distances to airports.

Initially I disallowed all the mileage as commuting, but I am being second-guessed b/c of the office in home.

He doesn't see clients there, like I do. I do not have commuting miles to deduct.

Would you expense the mileage or disallow?

[spanel]

I'd have a hard time doing business use home.

Doesnt meet clients.
Doesnt store inventory
0 for 2.

Last one is "use the space as your pricipal place of business"

Correct me if im wrong.. he makes $0 at home.. all his money is at the airport in the plane.

0 for 3 IMHO.

Unless he drives to different airports.... i'd probably not allow mileage either.

Chris

[ChEAr$]

I'd have a hard time doing business use home.

Doesnt meet clients.
Doesnt store inventory
0 for 2.

Last one is "use the space as your pricipal place of business"

Correct me if im wrong.. he makes $0 at home.. all his money is at the airport in the plane.

0 for 3 IMHO.

Unless he drives to different airports.... i'd probably not allow mileage either.

Chris

And I just bet so called office in home doesn't meet the regular and exclusive tests.

0 for 4.

[Possi]

Airports

He drives to different airports, yes.

But he also communicates with different airports/personel/clients, keeps his books, advertises, plans meetings, plans flights, etc. from his home office.

Like my business, I don't just punch numbers into the computer. There's a lot more to his business than meets the eye. I have no doubt the office is a deduction.

[spanel]

He drives to different airports, yes.

But he also communicates with different airports/personel/clients, keeps his books, advertises, plans meetings, plans flights, etc. from his home office.

Like my business, I don't just punch numbers into the computer. There's a lot more to his business than meets the eye. I have no doubt the office is a deduction.

Different airports, then I would do mileage.

chris

[oceanlovin'ea]

My thoughts were that he has to schedule the jumps, make arrangements, and do a lot of preliminary work from his office. I think he has a true home office.

I would think you could take mileage.

Linda, EA

[kpangelinan]

I'd take it.

I'd take it.

[MilTaxEA]

I'd take it too. A good reference to determine commuting/deductible mileage is Rev Rul 99-7: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-99-7.pdf

[Gary2]

Last one is "use the space as your pricipal place of business"

Correct me if im wrong.. he makes $0 at home.. all his money is at the airport in the plane.

The "principal place of business" isn't based on where the money is earned, but rather where the administrative and management work is done, along with not having any other fixed location.

[Possi]

The Office

If not for the office, I was hesitating. If he didn't have an office, would you take it? I would not take it and would not consider taking it unless he had one main airport he went to. Then I'd take the temporary location miles to other airports.
I'll look at the referenced pub when I can breathe again.

[FEDUKE404]

Office is a stretch, perhaps

I would likely strongly consider the OIH if the client wishes to push it.

However, I would remind the guy of the rules for "regular and exclusive" use for such space. For his "work" as you described it, how many square feet does he need for a filing cabinet, a book shelf, and a computer??

Also, it might not be a bad idea to explain what happens to any depreciation claimed "down the road."

FE

[MilTaxEA]

Home office and driving mileage are not directly connected; one does not imply the other. You can have one without the other. Read Rev Rul 99-7 (see link above) to determine if you mileage is deductible.

[Super Mom]

Yes, I would be sure that the Home Office is legitimate, and the T/P understands the exclusive use rule. If the Home office is legit, yes I'd take the miles.

[MilTaxEA]

You do not have to have exclusive use of the home office in order to deduct the mileage.

Rev Rul 99-7 citing Rev Rul 94-47: "if the taxpayer's residence is the taxpayer's principal place of business within the meaning of Sec 280(c)(1)(a), the taxpayer may deduct daily transportation expenses incurred in going between the taxpayer's residence and another work location in the same trade or business, regardless of whether the other work location is regular or temporary and regardless of the distance."

If you read that and the rest of Rev Rul 99-7, you will only see it discuss principal place of business, never exclusive use, to determine if mileage is deductible. So, even if you cannot deduct a home office (because it is not used exclusively), you can still deduct business mileage if your home is your principal place of business. Now, if you qualify for the home office deduction, you would then be able to deduct mileage since it requires both principal place of business and exclusive use.