Taxes: Business use of vehicle

[Will Truitt]

With all due respect to you Wim, I think you are sharing information about
mileage substantiation that is erroneous.  I can speak from the personal
experience of an IRS audit myself.  In 1994 my wife and I were given the
dubious honor of a compliance audit .  This is an audit where taxpayers are
chosen at random and audited, so that the IRS can get some idea of the level
of compliance amongst us.  It is one of the more complete audits they do.  

 

Long story short, after an exhaustive audit that lasted a couple of months,
the only thing they nailed me on was business use mileage.  I had kept good
records for the first 3 months or so of the year audited, but had gone to
sleep on my record keeping for the rest of the year.  I figured the
percentage of business mileage for the year on what it had been for those
months I kept records.  It probably was not too far off the mark.  But they
didn't care to look at my appointment book.  I could not substantiate the
mileage for the other 9 months.  Disallowed, plus interest and penalties.  

 

Your suggestion works fine for the person who will never be audited, which
is most people.  The self incrimination thing is beside the point - sloppy
record keeping is not the same as willful deception.  They're not going to
put you in jail for keeping poor records, but they will collect the fines
and interest.  

 

If it is too much trouble for someone to keep records, then simply do not
claim your mileage as a deduction.  Or if you do, be able to substantiate it
to the satisfaction of the IRS.  

 

Will Truitt

 

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Willem Blees
Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2008 12:10 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: Taxes: Business use of vehicle

 

Terry

 

You're making it too complicated. Figure your mileage the same way you
figure inventory. Write down the odometer reading on Jan 1 and subtract it
from the reading on Dec. 31. You use your car for about 80% business and 20%
personal use. That's the mileage you use. There is a question if you you can
substantiate your mileage. The answer to to that is yes, because if and when
the IRS ever audits you, show them your appointment book showing all your
customers. Let them figure out how many miles you drove. (You can include
you drove to Anaheim, or any other seminar). They have to prove you cheated
they cannot make you prove you lied. That's called self incrimination. 

Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
Piano Tuner/Technician
Honolulu, HI
Author of 
The Business of Piano Tuning
available from Potter Press
www.pianotuning.com



-----Original Message-----
From: Terence Miller <innuuuu at yahoo.com>
To: pianotech list <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Wed, 2 Apr 2008 3:50 am
Subject: Taxes: Business use of vehicle

Dear List:

Let's say you're preparing your records for taxes. You turn to your business
mileage log and notice some holes in your notations...like beginning mileage
and no finish mileage, or mileages and no date. So your record is slightly
erratic.

There's a good chance that you will be able to recreate your activities if
you cross check with your calendar, invoice book and business receipts.

If you do figure out what you did when, how do you get a good mileage
estimate?


Ah.

Google Maps to the rescue!              (maybe other map sites too.)

www.google.maps <http://www.google.maps/> 


click on       Get directions

enter a        Start address
and a          End address
and then     Get Directions


it will give you turn by turn directions, distance and estimated time

(hmmm, nothing new here)

BUT say you go more than one place.
What if you have to go back to the shop, buy gas, go to the hardware store,
oops back to the shop again, and out to your final appointment?

Click on        Add destination...
type in the address                       (or          Ace Hardware
YourCity Your State) 
and then       Get Directions

do that for all the places you went
click the     -      sign to collapse the directions
and           drag and drop            the destinations to match the route
(however crazy) you took. 

as you get comfortable with this you'll find that you can zoom in on the map
to the right of the display, right click and        Add a destination
instead of typing everything.


and there's your mileage.



QED


Terry Miller, RPT




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