Two questions on deductions

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Subject Author Date Two questions on deductions Passerby 04-15-2007  Re: Two questions on deductions John D. Goulden 04-16-2007  Re: Two questions on deductions Barry Margolin 04-16-2007  Re: Two questions on deductions Stuart A. Bronstein 04-18-2007  Re: Two questions on deductions Seth 04-19-2007  Re: Two questions on deductions Bill Brown 04-18-2007  Re: Two questions on deductions DORFMONT@aol.com (Linda D... 04-18-2007
Posted by Passerby on April 15, 2007, 1:42 pm Please log in for more thread options I have to do my own taxes this year, our usual tax preparer had a sudden family emergency. I have two questions, that somebody perhaps could help me with: 1) My company requires, that for every daily mileage expense submitted, I subtract the mileage from my house to the office. So, if it's 20 miles from home to the airport, and 25 miles to my office, I can't expense the trip from home to the airport. Does the same rule apply when claiming tax deduction for car expense ? I have made probably a few hundred trips to different sites and vendors from my home and couldn't expense them because the distance traveled was less than commute to office. 2) I didn't even request mileage expense reimbursement for most of the year - our management started to enforce the policy that mileage should be expensed within 3 months, or lost. In the past years, we could get away by submitting all prior mileage expenses around October, when things get a bit less crazy at work (usually I don't even go to lunch unless I need to meet with somebody). Can I still claim this unused reimbursement in my taxes ? Thanks ! << ------------------------------------------------------- >> << 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 (2006) - All rights reserved. >> << ------------------------------------------------------- >> Posted by John D. Goulden on April 16, 2007, 6:24 pm Please log in for more thread options > 1) My company requires, that for every daily mileage expense > submitted, I subtract the mileage from my house to the > office. So, if it's 20 miles from home to the airport, and > 25 miles to my office, I can't expense the trip from home to > the airport. Does the same rule apply when claiming tax > deduction for car expense ? > > 2) I didn't even request mileage expense reimbursement for > most of the year ... Can I still claim this unused > reimbursement in my taxes ? I wonder if the intent of that rule is to avoid paying mileage on the commute from home to the office. However, travel from home to a temporary place of work generally is a deduction. If you did a lot of that and your employer didn't reimburse you, you can probably deduct it on your taxes. It's subject to the 2% floor so it's probably better for you if your employer reimburses you. Here's a fairly good page on travel deductions: http://www.fool.com/school/taxes/taxes04.htm I'm not sure what you mean by "unused reimbursement" in part 2 there. If you have legitimate business-related travel expenses that were not reimbursed by your employer, you can deduct them on your taxes. -- John D. Goulden << ======================================================= >> << 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 (2006) - All rights reserved. >> << ======================================================= >> Posted by Barry Margolin on April 16, 2007, 9:51 pm Please log in for more thread options > > 2) I didn't even request mileage expense reimbursement for > > most of the year ... Can I still claim this unused > > reimbursement in my taxes ? .... > I'm not sure what you mean by "unused reimbursement" in > part 2 there. If you have legitimate business-related > travel expenses that were not reimbursed by your > employer, you can deduct them on your taxes. I always assumed that the non-reimbursement has to be because the company refuses to reimburse employees for the expense, NOT because you never bothered to submit an expense report. -- Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu Arlington, MA *** PLEASE don't copy me on replies, I'll read them in the group *** << ------------------------------------------------------- >> << 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 (2006) - All rights reserved. >> << ------------------------------------------------------- >> Posted by Stuart A. Bronstein on April 18, 2007, 2:16 am Please log in for more thread options >>> 2) I didn't even request mileage expense reimbursement for >>> most of the year ... Can I still claim this unused >>> reimbursement in my taxes ? >> I'm not sure what you mean by "unused reimbursement" in >> part 2 there. If you have legitimate business-related >> travel expenses that were not reimbursed by your >> employer, you can deduct them on your taxes. > I always assumed that the non-reimbursement has to be > because the company refuses to reimburse employees for > the expense, NOT because you never bothered to submit > an expense report. The IRS used to say that you couldn't take a casualty loss if you had insurance but didn't file a claim. The courts disagreed. Seems like a pretty analogous situation to me. Stu << ======================================================= >> << 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 (2006) - All rights reserved. >> << ======================================================= >> Posted by Seth on April 19, 2007, 4:30 am Please log in for more thread options > I always assumed that the non-reimbursement has to be > because the company refuses to reimburse employees for > the expense, NOT because you never bothered to submit > an expense report. If so, he can file now and the company will refuse because it's too late. Seth << ======================================================= >> << 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 (2006) - All rights reserved. >> << ======================================================= >> Similar Threads Posted Questions on Schedule A Tax Deductions September 16, 2008, 2:35 pm deductions and AMT December 28, 2006, 8:15 pm Missed deductions February 13, 2007, 1:49 am Top Ten Oddball Tax Deductions March 25, 2007, 12:26 pm Who takes the deductions? April 15, 2007, 1:42 pm Deductions for 501(c)(3) volunteers June 5, 2007, 3:19 pm Will there be tax deductions for my LLC business? July 12, 2007, 7:34 pm Re: Will there be tax deductions for my LLC business? 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