Commuting Mileage

• Commuting mileage is the distance between your home and your place of business whether you are an employee or self-employed. In general, commuting miles, particularly for employees, are not tax deductible. The IRS considers commuting as a personal expense and not a business expense for an employee. There are occasions when an employee may deduct commuting mileage, but he must work at more than one location.
  
  

Exception

• The IRS allows you to deduct commuting miles if you are self-employed and travel between two or more business locations. If, as a trucker, you established your business in your home and travel to another site to pick up your load before going out on the road, you may deduct commuting miles.
  
  

Standard Mileage Rate

• Every year, the IRS publishes the optional standard mileage rates companies use to calculate the cost of operating a vehicle for a business, charity, medical or moving expenses. The standard mileage rate for business is 51 cents per mile based on an annual study of the fixed and variable cost for operating an automobile.
  
  

Insight

• Before deducting commuter miles, talk with your accountant or tax adviser to discuss your tax situation. The IRS scrutinizes small business tax returns. The key for claiming a business tax deduction such as commuter miles as a self-employed trucker is good recordkeeping. Claiming deductions that you don't qualify for may trigger an IRS audit.