Mileage Deduction / Consultant Gift

[ChefJWarren]

When recording/deducting mileage, do I have to record the actual mileage (beginning and end) when conducting business or can I just record date and address, and then look it up on Maps and write down to/from mileage??

Can I deduct when I pay for shipping or give other discounts as part of a promotion?

 

[RaggedyAunt]

Jessica, in my experience, yes to both. Last year, my first year, I wrote down starting and ending mileage. This year it was busier, so I am just "guesstimating" PC-related mileage. I figured my base annual mileage before PC, and calculated the difference with my end of year mileage. I doubt the IRS is too picky with mileage, so long as it seems reasonable. I mean, as long as you average about 20-50 miles per show, it won't raise flags. However, if you claim 2000 miles/show, there might be a red flag going up. (Basically, if it's proportional to your income, I think you'll be okay--just keep your planner/calendar for 3 years or so to be able to verify your parties).

As for discounts and free shipping, I always print a duplicate receipt (just on plain paper for my records) and highlight my deductible part and write the reason why. I do an Excel spreadsheet for deductible expenses, rather than just relying on reports from our software.

HTH some...

Tammy

 

[sklay723]

Just FYI, if you use P3, there are ways to enter your "discounts" and gifts as consultant gifts, and I'm assuming there's a way to make it file a report that you can print off at year end? I haven't gotten to that part yet, but I'm learning!
I keep a notebook in my car and log my mileage (leaving and arriving back at home) for every PC thing I do (shows, trips to the store for groceries or copies, delivery of products to customers, driving to the bank to make deposits, etc.). It took me a couple of weeks to get used to the routine, but now that I've been doing it a couple of months it's clockwork. I highly recommend it!

 

[climbercanoe3]

At our cluster meeting in December we talked all about taxes. My NED and another Director that is an accountant said the IRS is picky about mileage. They want beginning and ending numbers for the trips. I know there are some that will say don't worry about it. I figure like sklay23 said it took a couple of weeks to get a routine. I think it is worth it to save any aggravation later. I had beeen doing mapquest directions for the mileage and changed when I heard this.

 

[chefann]

You don't have to turn in odometer reading for mileage - unless you're audited. Then you'll definitely wish you had them!

 

[KellyTheChef]

OK...now you all are making me nervous. My accountant said that I can just write down the miles to/from (as in the total miles driven) and also to document my BEGINNING mileage January 1st and the ENDING mileage on December 31st. That way, they can see that only a % of my driving is PC related.

I have NEVER been able to be disiplined enough to actually remember to write down my odometer at the beginning and end of each PC related trip.

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

I've ALWAYS written miles to and from ... and NEVER been audited. (Praying it never happens, either.) The accounting people upstairs at work also never whine that I don't include ODO readings on the sheets they use. I don't know how I would ever reconstruct such a record, since I just retired my previous car, and since I would be more likely to hit the trip odometer when headed to an unfamiliar location.

 

[c00p]

I keep a little spiral bound notebook right in my console and EVERY time I leave my house if it's in ANY way related to the business, i.e., bank, post office, grocery store, supplies, shows (obviously), meetings, etc. I write down the date, beginning and ending mileage for that trip and what I did on that trip - to bank, post office, groc. store. I don't detail really. I do put the hosts' name when I go to a show. I just want to be safe in case anything ever comes up. I pray it doesn't.

 

[redsoxgirl]

What do you do if something is on the way home (ie - I stop on the way home from work to deposit checks or go to a Cluster meeting)?

 

[jrstephens]

I just keep up with the mileage. I figure it is the same as medical mileage that I have been doing for years and have not done odometer. I did decide that this year, I am going to print a mapquest map for each show to keep in my expense file.

I keep up with all my expesnes in P3 and print out the report at the end of the year. If I need more categories than what they have, I just add it.