CHAPTER 9
Car and Truck Expenses
Alert
At the time this book was printed, Congress had not extended numerous breaks for 2012 that had expired at the end of 2011. Check the online supplement in February 2013 at www.jklasser.com or www.barbaraweltman.com to see whether these breaks apply for 2012 returns.
Americans are highly mobile, and the car is the method of choice for transportation. If you use your car for business, you may write off various costs. There are 2 methods for deducting costs: the actual expense method and the standard mileage allowance. In this chapter you will learn about:
- Deducting car expenses in general
- Actual expense method
- Standard mileage allowance
- Leasing a car for business
- Arranging car ownership
- Employee use of an employer-provided car
- Vehicle trade-ins
- Trucks and vans
- Credit for plug-in electric vehicles
- Reimbursement arrangements
- Recordkeeping for car expenses
- Where to deduct car expenses
For further information about deductions with respect to business use of your car, see IRS Publication 463, Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses.
Get J.K. Lasser's Small Business Taxes 2013: Your Complete Guide to a Better Bottom Line now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
