Tax question from new driver

Technically no.

Realistically yes.

You can only take a deduction on it for the business use. It is a gray area. I usually take the computer as an expense and advise the client on the proper records to maintain and advise them of the rules. You might lose the deduction under an audit, but it can be argued for deduction with the right records.

 

Thanks. I use a Delorme program all the time, but it's obviously for personal use as well, unless you consider this site training?

 

What is the Delorme program???


Even the internet cost, can be considered as well.

 

last year I went to a cpa... had all my receipts, training, boots, lic, lap top, perdiem figured on days away from home... ect...ect...

was about $9500 worth...

cpa asked if it were all accurate...? I said yep...

he said ok, and wrote down 10k, "blah blah blah... lingo lingo.... 10 k is standard deduction for you and so we are taking the the standard instead of itemizing..."

??????ok?????? wish I'd have known that before I spent 3 days gathering and adding crap up... lol

some times... I make things more difficult than they are...


HOW MUCH AM I GETTING BACK ??? from above questioner:

depends how much you owe and if you have paid enough in...

you aren't getting 10k back unless you paid it in and didn't owe it.

not sure that translates into words real well... but generally I never get a big return back... mostly because I generally do not pay very much in to begin with... only what I owe.

 

Actually it was 75% for this past tax year. It goes to 80% for this year which you will file next spring. The per diem was raised to a maximum of 80% by congress several years ago but it was raised gradually.

The daily per diem amount actually varies based on the location you were in but for simplicity sake we will go with the 52.00 figure.

As for the laptop issue I believe it is considered a depreciable asset. I think you can accelerate the depreciation though and take it as a 1 time deduction. This is what I did when I filed my taxes anyway.

 

I don't remember what the standard deduction was for my last return but I just looked on Google and it came back as $5,300 for single, $10,700 married jointly.

Also the deductions that are being written about are for a company driver, correct not an O/O?

To get the deductions one has to keep receipts for food meals daily to get the $52?

At that rate it wouldn't be difficult to get more deductions over a years' time to add up to more then the $5,300 for single person.

 

You just need to keep your log books "forever" to prove you were out over night as many times as you claim to be times the $52. No, it's not difficult to go over the standard deduction for a single person.

 

For personal tax returns 3 years is all most of us will never need to keep receipts on hand for. If your running your own business, as in an owner operator, I would suggest 7 years of records and receipts.

 

sunds like you dealt with the same uninformed H&R Blockhead i asked about it the season b4 trucking. he didnt know jack about the 52 per day per diem. my tax lady (h&R) said if i wanted to get technical i could calculate it by state. if i was in MO these days and their rate was XX dollars per day, then in IL this day XX $$. etc....IL
that sounded like too much trouble to go thru a whole yr worth of logs and calculate the PD each day then average it to see if i would come out better using it than the standard (52 per day)

 

Could you please explain that if the company offers a per diem rate do you then also on your taxes fiqure in the per diem per day on the road om your taxes? I know we will get the hang of this.
Also is it better to take the per diem from the companies? I understand its less money but you are not taxed on it.
Also company drivers what can they deduct? There is so many expenses for being on the road they have, but do not have their own company?
Sorry for all the questions but it would be good to start out right. Thank you all.