Keeping Track of Business Mileage for Tax Deductions
By Art Gib
It is not easy keeping track of business mileage for tax deductions. It involves diligence and persistence. Fortunately, it really pays off though. You can see a reduction in your taxes of hundreds if not thousands of dollars if you manage to do a good job in this area. There are several ways you can go about keeping your records.
1. Use a daily planner. This is the low-tech way to go, but many people prefer it. At the end of each day, you would write down your mileage for the day on the space for that date. The work comes in when you get ready to write it up. You have to go through every page and add up every mile.
2. Incorporate it into your expense report. Some companies use this method. Every time you fill up your gas tank, you are required to write down your mileage. The company will hold the actual records of your business mileage, but you can get copies to file with your taxes so that you can get the tax deductions. This works best if you are the only one using a company car.
3. Create a spreadsheet. If you have a laptop computer, you can bring it along and enter your mileage into your spreadsheet every time you stop for the day. The advantage of having it on a spreadsheet is that the program does the math for you. All you have to do is to set it up the way you want it once and then plug in the mileages as you go.
4. Email yourself your mileage each day. This is ideal for people who travel for days on end. You can use your cell phone to send an email to your email account each day you are on the road. All you need to put it in is the mileage and the date. Then, when you get back home you can record them in your spreadsheet.
5. Add it to the daily job site reports. There are companies that will use their job site reports to keep track of everything from supplies to time on the clock to business mileage. Again, the company will have this information on file and you will have to get copies if you want to use it for your tax deductions.
6. Use your D.O.T. log. If you are an over-the-road trucker, you know that you have to show every mile you drive. Why not use that record to keep track of your business mileage for tax deductions. There are others who may be new to D.O.T. procedures that do not realize that they have everything they need to document their mileage right there.
There are certainly many different ways of keeping track of business expenses for tax deductions. You should be able to save yourself some money this tax season if you travel at all. It is a job, but you it is well worth your time.
About the author
If you have an iPhone, track your mileage with an iPhone mileage tracker. For less than four dollars you can put this application on your phone at http://milebug.com/ and forget about sending emails and manual records. The author, Art Gib, is a freelance writer. from http://www.FreeArticlesAndContent.com
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