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Posted by Howard Kaikow on January 10, 2008, 9:07 am
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It is my understanding that, if one uses the standard mileage deduction for
a car the first year, then one can choose to use either the standard mileage
deduction or actual expenses in subsequent years.
In that case, I need to switch to actual costs for 2007.
In my case, my total car expenses include the following categories:
Gas
Motor vehicle registration
oil and oil filter
Required state inspection and emissions tests
Insurance
AAA
Pub 17 states:
"You can include out-of-pocket expenses, such as the cost
of gas and oil, when you use your car medical reasons. You
cannot include depreciation, insurance, general repair, or
maintenance expenses."
Does that mean that only insurance must be excluded from my car expenses
for the purposes of medical expenses?
Parking fees and tools are extra.
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Posted by Una on January 10, 2008, 11:06 am
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As medical expenses, you can claim the gas, oil, and filters. Not
the other stuff; those expenses are not affected by your extra
medical-related mileage. And to get actual expenses you must pro-
rate your total expenses for gas etc ("consumables") by the
proportion of miles you drove the car for medical reasons. That
requires a lot of recordkeeping.
For what it's worth, I keep extremely detailed records and I found
the standard mileage rate for medical expenses was easier to document
and gave me a larger deduction. Your Mileage May Vary, as they say;
if you drive a gas-guzzler then actual expenses may be in your favor.
Una
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<< ------------------------------------------------------- >>
<< The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
<< nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
<< that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
<< >>
<< The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
<< to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
<< are at www.asktax.org. >>
<< Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. >>
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Posted by Howard Kaikow on January 10, 2008, 9:45 pm
Please log in for more thread options > As medical expenses, you can claim the gas, oil, and filters. Not
> the other stuff; those expenses are not affected by your extra
> medical-related mileage. And to get actual expenses you must pro-
> rate your total expenses for gas etc ("consumables") by the
> proportion of miles you drove the car for medical reasons. That
> requires a lot of recordkeeping.
>
> For what it's worth, I keep extremely detailed records and I found
> the standard mileage rate for medical expenses was easier to document
> and gave me a larger deduction. Your Mileage May Vary, as they say;
> if you drive a gas-guzzler then actual expenses may be in your favor.
Why then are such expenses allowed for business related miles?
35.23% of my 2007 miles were medically related.
Record keeping is trivial if one know how to use, say, Excel.
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<< ------------------------------------------------------- >>
<< The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
<< nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
<< that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
<< >>
<< The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
<< to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
<< are at www.asktax.org. >>
<< Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. >>
<< ------------------------------------------------------- >>
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Posted by Una on January 11, 2008, 12:26 pm
Please log in for more thread options >35.23% of my 2007 miles were medically related.
Over 50% of my 2006 miles were for medical care. I filed in October.
Filing for 2007 will be a piece of cake.
However, that is irrelevant to which method (standard rate or actual
cost) gets you a higher deduction. What matters is how fuel-efficient
your vehicle is. Also, don't confuse rules re medical expenses with
rules re business expenses; they are not related.
For me, the actual cost method would have been a PITA because I drove
multiple vehicles.
Una
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<< ------------------------------------------------------- >>
<< The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
<< nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
<< that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
<< >>
<< The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
<< to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
<< are at www.asktax.org. >>
<< Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. >>
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Posted by Howard Kaikow on January 11, 2008, 5:32 pm
Please log in for more thread options > Over 50% of my 2006 miles were for medical care. I filed in October.
> Filing for 2007 will be a piece of cake.
>
> However, that is irrelevant to which method (standard rate or actual
> cost) gets you a higher deduction. What matters is how fuel-efficient
> your vehicle is. Also, don't confuse rules re medical expenses with
> rules re business expenses; they are not related.
>
> For me, the actual cost method would have been a PITA because I drove
> multiple vehicles.
In my case, gaz guzzling is not the issue.
In 2006, I drove only 1300 miles.
In 2007, I drove only 1093 miles.
So a large porttion of the costs are fixed, no matter how many miles I
drove.
Seems that such costs are deductible for business use, but not for medical
use.
The deduction for medical use should not be inherently different than for
business use.
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<< ------------------------------------------------------- >>
<< The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
<< nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
<< that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
<< >>
<< The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
<< to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
<< are at www.asktax.org. >>
<< Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. >>
<< ------------------------------------------------------- >>
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