Can I claim mileage on my taxes?

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Do you drive for work and want to know if you can claim mileage on your taxes? Business mileage driven for work and other car expenses are write-offs.

Driving your personal car for work is expensive. You have likely realized the expenses as a result of using your personal car for work just keep growing. Particularly the more you drive.
And you likely ask yourself, can I claim mileage on my taxes? 

The good news is you can write off mileage on taxes. The IRS provides a few methods for deducting mileage expenses. 

In this article, we explain what business mileage is tax-deductible, and the different methods the IRS provides for business use car write-offs. Read to learn.

Can I claim mileage on my taxes?

Yes

Related: The Complete List of Small Business and Self Employment Tax Write Offs

How do I write off mileage on my taxes?

The IRS provides two ways to write off mileage on taxes: 

1. Actual Car Expense Method
   This IRS mileage write off method requires you to itemize each vehicle expense for the year. For example, to keep track of gas, maintenance, insurance fees, etc.
   
2. Standard Mileage Rate (most common)
   The Standard Mileage Rate is most convenient. Annually the IRS annually specifies a per mile rate for this method. In this rate all itemized expenses based on the economic environment of each year are accounted for. Therefore, the standard rate accounts for cost of gas, depreciation, etc.
   
   Most that use the Standard Mileage Rate method use an auto GPS mileage tracker app. An GPS tracker app like Falcon Expenses saves you a lot of time by automatically tracking your miles as you drive. After Falcon Expense captures your miles you can easily create mileage reports that meet IRS record keeping requirements.
   Download Falcon Expenses, Free 

What vehicle expenses can you write off on taxes?

There are a variety of itemized vehicle expenses you can write off.* Such as:

Auto insurance

You can write off your auto insurance fees.

Maintenance

Maintenance includes oil changes, tire rotations, brake pad replacements, etc.

Gasoline

Can I write-off gas? Yes! And gas is expensive, so write it off.

New tire purchases

Go ahead and get those new tires. You can write off new tire purchases.

Title, license, registration fees

This is not deductible in all states so check with your state.

Vehicle depreciation

The best way to calculate this is to use a depreciation table or a car depreciation calculator. After determining the vehicle depreciation amount, only deduct the portion that applies to the business use of your vehicle. 

*The itemization of vehicle expenses for tax write-offs is what is used as part of the Actual Car Expense Method. Read more details about this IRS vehicle write-off method above.

Can I write off gasoline expenses?

Yes. You can write-off gas from your taxes. To do this you need to use the actual expense method.

Can you write off gasoline and mileage on taxes?

No.
When you write off mileage, you are using the IRS Standard Mileage Rate method. When you use this method you calculate your vehicle expenses using a standard mileage rate that is published annually by the IRS. In this standard mileage rate, the IRS accounts for all itemized vehicle expenses, including gas, and incorporates them into one per mile rate.

Which is better, Standard Mileage Rate or Actual Car Expenses?

This depends on your situation. For some, the Actual Car Expense method might result in a larger tax write-off. However, it might also be time-consuming. So it depends on many factors, such as your total vehicle expenses, time, and preferences. 

Conclusion

The answer to the question, can I claim mileage on my taxes, is yes. However, you just need to decide which IRS method, the standard rate vs the actual car expense method, that you want to use.