Phone Usage deduction. Personal vs Business separation.

Discussion in 'Trucker Taxes and Truck Financing' started by TallJoe, Feb 23, 2017.

  1. tscottme

    tscottme Road Train Member

    If you ever deal with the IRS, pulling your own teeth with rusty pliers will seem like a fair bargain. Separate your personal & business use.
     
    Airborne Thanks this.
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  3. ChicagoJohn

    ChicagoJohn Road Train Member

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    I've dealt with the IRS twice, they never once asked about telephone usage or found it to be painful. Stressful, yes, but both times the agents were very nice, although a little dry. As an S Corp it really doesn't matter, it's a difference as maybe a couple of dollars overall.
     
    TallJoe Thanks this.
  4. Cowpie1

    Cowpie1 Road Train Member

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    I keep it relatively simple. There is the phones and there is the data plan. I have a unlimited data plan on my phones and use that only while on the road. So I just take the cost of the data plan and don't deduct the regular phone stuff. I use the phone as a hotspot when on the road for my laptop. I have regular wifi router at home.
     
  5. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    I've too been audited a lot, and never ever ever has the phone come up, and I charge back 100% of my bill because of the amount of time I spend calling everyone who has something to do with the company, even my wife at times.
     
    redoctober83 Thanks this.
  6. Accidental Trucker

    Accidental Trucker Road Train Member

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    It's an unlimited plan, and the business buys it. There is no cost to the personal calls, so no split necessary.

    Now the LLC buys the employees a phone as a business expense, which makes it even simpler.
     
    ChicagoJohn Thanks this.
  7. striker

    striker Road Train Member

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    All kinds of information, so let me tell you what I was told directly by an IRS agent during my recent audit.

    You add up all minutes used for business purposes, take that as a percentage of the TOTAL minutes used for the month. If you used 100 minutes total, and 10 were business, that's 10%. However much your cell phone bill is, you can deduct 10% for that month. You need to do this month by month. I can assure you, in an audit, the IRS may/will ask for ALL CELLPHONE bills, and will expect you to highlight the business calls, they may/will call some of those numbers at random to find out who they are. Heaven forbid the number has been changed. When I had my audit, the IRS officer called actually called about 6 of the numbers I highlighted, I lucked out in that the numbers were repetitive as I ran the same route all the time.

    The law used to be you added up all the minutes used for business x $.25 to get the total deduction, that was changed several years back.

    Your only other option is a dedicated business only line, and god forbid, even by accident, that line have even one non business call on it.
     
    tucker Thanks this.
  8. BoostedTeg

    BoostedTeg Road Train Member

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    I just write off 75% of my total yearly bill as business use. Haven't been questioned about it.
     
  9. striker

    striker Road Train Member

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    If you are audited, your itemized cell phone bill better be able to reflect that or the IRS will review it line by line and adjust accordingly.
     
    BoostedTeg Thanks this.
  10. BoostedTeg

    BoostedTeg Road Train Member

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    Seeing how now days almost everything is done on our phones I don't think it's out of line
     
  11. striker

    striker Road Train Member

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    What you and I think are one thing, what the book says, and how the IRS interprets it is another.

    My wife has to purchase specific shoes for her job in a restaurant, by OSHA requirements the shoes must be slip resistant and non-conductive. $140 every year for a new pair of shoes. Yes, she can wear them in public, BUT, they are a federal requirement. According to OSHA, the cost of these shoes should be deductible, per IRS regulations, they are not deductible because they can be worn at any time. I spent more than 3 weeks going round and round with the original IRS officer about these shoes, she refused to budge. When I sat down with the Appeals officer, while she agreed with me they should be deductible, per the regs they are not. It's all in black and white.
     
    BoostedTeg Thanks this.
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