If you use your car for business purposes, you ordinarily can deduct car expenses. You generally can use one of the two following methods to figure your deductible expenses.
If you use actual expenses to figure your deduction for a car you lease, there are rules that affect the amount of your lease payments that you can deduct. See Leasing a Car.
In this publication, "car" includes a van, pickup, or panel truck. For the definition of "car" for depreciation purposes, see Car defined under Actual Car Expenses, later.
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You may be entitled to a tax credit for an electric vehicle or a deduction from gross income for a part of the cost of a clean-fuel vehicle that you place in service during the year. The vehicle must meet certain requirements, and you do not have to use it in your business to qualify for the credit or the deduction. However, you must reduce your basis for depreciation of the electric vehicle or clean-fuel vehicle property by the amount of the credit or deduction you claim. See Depreciation Deduction. For more information on electric or clean-fuel vehicles, see chapter 12 of Publication 535. |
Rural mail carriers. If you are a rural mail carrier, you may be able to treat the qualified reimbursement you received as your allowable expense. Because the qualified reimbursement is treated as paid under an accountable plan, your employer should not include the reimbursement in your income. And, since the reimbursement equals the expense, you have no deduction to report on your tax return.
A "qualified reimbursement" is the reimbursement you receive that meets both of the following conditions.
It is given as an equipment maintenance allowance (EMA) to employees of the U.S. Postal Service.
It is at the rate contained in the 1991 collective bargaining agreement. Any later agreement cannot increase the qualified reimbursement amount by more than the rate of inflation.
See your employer for information on your reimbursement.
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If you are a rural mail carrier and received a qualified reimbursement, you cannot use the standard mileage rate. |
Information courtesy of the Internal Revenue Service.
