I have a question about deducting mileage on your taxes. I report mileage per month to my place of employment which includes mileage only between clients and not commuting to and from work. The place of employment reimburses me $0.35 per mile but the federal rate is $0.50/0.55 for 2011. I have the mileage logs from my employer and the amounts paid for mileage. Can this be deducted on my return? When I put the mileage totals into TurboTax I get like an extra $700 back on the return but there is no place to put in amounts I have already been reimbursed which I am sure would bring that number down. Any advice, hints, tips or tricks? More information needed? TIA
If your employer included the reimbursements in your w-2, you can claim the full mileage rate x your business mileage for the year. If it was not included in your w-2, you'd need to take the difference between the standard mileage rate and the rate you were reimbursed at to figure your deduction. If you're claiming these expenses on Form 2106 and your reimbursements were not included in your w-2, you'd report the full deduction under the SMR on line 1 and then use line 7 to reflect the reimbursements from your employer. I don't use Turbo Tax, but hopefully that gives you a good starting point.
We're not exactly sure if the reimbursed amount is included in the W-2. Here is a screenshot of what TurboTax asks for: We have filled in the information we know. Anymore advice? Thanks!!!
It isn't clear in the first post, but are you claiming mileage on your commute to and from work? If so, I do not believe you can do that. Assume my work commute is 10 miles each way and I have a client 5 miles from the office that I visit every day after arriving at the office. I would be allowed to claim 10 miles each day (5 miles from office to client, 5 miles from client to office). Even if all I did some days is drive from my house to the client and then back home (never visiting the office), then I could still only claim the office-client-office trip. Check out Line 21 on your schedule A. That is where you can enter unreimbursed work expenses. I assume you would enter the difference between the federal standards and what your work paid. Please note that this is not tax advice and I am not claiming to be a tax professional. I am not even staying in a Holiday Inn, but at a Novotel.
