charge for time?

[Geoff Sykes]

At the end of the year I deduct all my business miles, as a business
expense, at whatever the governments going rate is for that year. I can't
believe that it's possible to both charge the customer for those miles and
then deduct them as well. Is it? I would think that it's either one or the
other. Which one benefits us the most?
 
-- Geoff Sykes
-- Assoc. Los Angeles
 
 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Cy Shuster
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 10:11 PM
To: Pianotech List
Subject: Re: charge for time?


Most customers know the IRS mileage rates for business expenses, as it's the
rate they get back when they use their car for business:
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=163828,00.html
 
This is a good thing for them, so they think of it kindly, and it has an
independent rationale (rather than being an arbitrary fee).
 
I charge about half of that as a separately listed mileage fee for trips of
more than about half an hour away from home.  I set my trip odometer to zero
at home, and note what it is when I get onsite, and charge for the round
trip.  If the price of gas goes way up, I adjust the rate accordingly.  By
using the round trip, it's pretty easy for customers to verify with
Mapquest.
 
I also split the charge between all customers on the same day (because I
schedule them in the same area).  This encourages them to find other
customers for me, and it's a win/win/win for all of us.
 
Dan Levitan has a great concept to use: establish a "policy".  This lets you
make exceptions, without rolling over completely.  For example, "My policy
is to charge for mileage on out-of-town trips, but in this case, Mrs. Jones,
I'm waiving it for you.".
 
--Cy--
 

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