Commuting mileage is not a deductible business expense.
Why it is not deductible
Getting from where you live to where you work is a personal cost, however long the drive is. It stays non-deductible if you take calls on the way, carry tools, or have your logo on the car. What changes the answer is the status of your home: if your home is your principal place of business, the trip from home to a client or a job site is business driving and goes on line 9.
Log it once, with the line already on it. Type an expense in plain words in ClaryBook and it is filed with a date, vendor, amount and what it was for, so the number your preparer needs for commuting mileage is already written down.
Start for freeWhat commuting mileage is confused with
- Line 9, car and truck expenses
- Home to a regular work location is commuting; home to a client when the home is your principal place of business, or any trip between two business locations, is business mileage on line 9.
- Line 30, line 30, business use of your home
- Qualifying the home as your principal place of business is what turns those first and last trips into business miles, and the same qualification is what supports a line 30 home office deduction.
Examples people try to deduct here
- Driving 14 miles each way to a rented studio you work from every day
- Driving to a long-term job site you report to daily for months
- A coffee stop on the way in, which does not convert the trip
- A daily drive from home to an office you rent, logo on the car or not
What does not belong here
- Commuting miles added into a business mileage total
- Miles claimed because the car carries tools or advertising
- A longer route home treated as a business trip
The limit that applies
If the home qualifies as the principal place of business, trips from home to clients and job sites are business miles rather than commuting.
What to keep
Record total miles, commuting miles and other personal miles separately for the year. Part IV of Schedule C asks for commuting miles by name, so a log that lumps everything together cannot answer the form.
Other things that are not deductible
| Expense | Line |
|---|---|
| a business suit | Not deductible |
| a government fine or penalty | Not deductible |
| a parking ticket | Not deductible |
| a personal expense on the business card | Not deductible |
| a spouse's airfare on your business trip | Not deductible |
| a traffic ticket | Not deductible |
| an unpaid invoice | Not deductible |
| country club dues | Not deductible |
| estimated tax payments | Not deductible |
| federal income tax | Not deductible |
| groceries for your home | Not deductible |
| interest on underpaid federal income tax | Not deductible |
Related lookups
Sources
- Topic no. 510, Business use of car
- Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses
- Publication 587, Business Use of Your Home
This page explains how Schedule C lines work. It is general information, not tax advice for your situation. If an expense is large or the answer turns on a fact about your business, confirm it with your tax preparer.
Looking for a different expense? The full Schedule C line lookup has every line from 8 to 27 with the expenses that belong on each, and Schedule C expense categories walks the whole form in order.
Log it once, with the line already on it. Type an expense in plain words in ClaryBook and it is filed with a date, vendor, amount and what it was for, so the number your preparer needs for commuting mileage is already written down.
Start for free