Terry D EA Posted February 11, 2018 Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 Client's place of employment, main office for example, is further away than the job site. So instead of going to the place of employment, the client goes straight to the job site to save fuel. He is an employee and not a sub contractor and receives a W-2 at the end of the year. I say this is a commute and not deductible. Opinions please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FDNY Posted February 11, 2018 Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 I agree. If he stopped at main office first, the distance to the job site and back to office is deductible. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abby Normal Posted February 11, 2018 Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 Unless it qualifies under the transportation or 'no regular place of work' rules. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463#en_US_2017_publink100033913 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry D EA Posted February 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 6 minutes ago, Abby Normal said: Unless it qualifies under the transportation or 'no regular place of work' rules. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463#en_US_2017_publink100033913 I looked at all of those rules and nothing seems to fit. In my opinion and according to my past experience and the IRS rules, it is a commute. Just wondering if anyone might know something I missed. My explanation to the client was exactly as FDNY's explanation. If I get a fee more folks agreeing, I will tell this guy no deduction and if he insists on me including it anyway (already been suggested) I will send him on his way. Already explained the circular 230 consequences I will face for doing this while all he gets to do is pay back the tax. Well maybe a bit more if they determine it was willful intent. Thanks!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yardley CPA Posted February 11, 2018 Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 I believe it is a commute as well. Considering his main office is further than the job site, I don't see how he would justify going to the job site as a deductible. Anything after the office stop would be considered for deduction, but going to the job site before the office is commute in my book and not deductible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ringers Posted February 12, 2018 Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 I agree with Yardley, FDNY, and Abby--definitely commuting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANRVAN Posted February 12, 2018 Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 9 hours ago, FDNY said: I agree. If he stopped at main office first, the distance to the job site and back to office is deductible. That would be true if he was required to report at office by employer or actually did some work there. The only other way to deduct would be if he was temporarily working outside his "metro" area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gail in Virginia Posted February 12, 2018 Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 If he goes to the job site, and then has to go to the office, the distance from job site to office might be deductible. But I agree with you as far as deducting drive to job site - commuting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yardley CPA Posted February 12, 2018 Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 I believe commute miles are the round trip distance between your home and your normal office each day. Once he gets to the office, any miles driven to conduct business can be considered for a deduction, depending on the purpose of the trip. If you're going from your home to some remote location, another option would be to back out the normal commute miles driven from your home to the office. The excess miles may be considered for business miles driven deduction, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulldogTom Posted February 12, 2018 Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 52 minutes ago, Yardley CPA said: If you're going from your home to some remote location, another option would be to back out the normal commute miles driven from your home to the office. The excess miles may be considered for business miles driven deduction, no? I disagree. The first and last trip of the day are specifically referred to as commuting miles in the code. This is why we need to be so careful to document home office usage, so that the first trip of the day is from our home, to our home office, and then when we are done traveling for the day, we come back to our home office, check our email, and then go from our home office to our home on the other side of the wall from our home office. Tom Modesto, CA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee B Posted February 12, 2018 Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 I do remember reading a Tax Court Case where the employee was required by his employer to keep parts and supplies in his garage so that his first customer service call did not require him to go to the employer's shop. In this case the taxpayer prevailed and it was not commuting, so make sure you ask questions and make sure you have all the facts. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abby Normal Posted February 12, 2018 Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 "Business travel" & "Transportation" are two different paths to the mileage deduction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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