Not if you pick up one shop or two.
What I do when I go from MD to CT for Thanksgiving (with an overnight stop at a friend's place in northern NJ) may be something like what I did last month:
Drive to Manhattan, do 2 shops and an overnight hotel shop;
do 3 more NYC shops, plus another overnight hotel shop;
drive out to Long Island to do a New home shop, return to the City for yet another overnight hotel shop;
drive to my friend's house on New Jersey, via a shop in Jersey City.
Note the odometer reading there, and spend the night.
Drive to CT and back for a strictly personal visit.
Return to friend's NJ home overnight, note odometer reading ther so that I can subtract the personal mileage from the total trip miles.
Drive home.
Now, if, in addition, you own a rental property where you used to live, you could make the trip your annual inspection trip and get a whole different set of deductions for your Schedule E for the trip. (But, no double dipping!)
That trip will show a very nice net taxable income, even after taking all expenses.
Note that the claimed business miles will be just the same as if I only did the shopping route with an overnight near the last shop. Meals and tolls (tons of tolls) will be deducted solely for the Home-NJ friend's home-Home segments of the trip.
Alternatively, I could have driven to CT with no shops enroute, and then done a whole bunch of shops, over several days in CT, while with family. In addition, it would be iffy if my stay in CT were in a hotel where I had to take 2 rooms, instead of 1 to accommodate my family. And, meals for the family along the route would not be deductible except for MY portion.
Another tip: if you buy a gently used car of good reliability and great gas mileage, skip the depreciation option! You have already avoided the (real, not tax based) losses from the first couple of years, so the generous IRS mileage allowance is a great option, and usually the best. (The first owner took a real hit, of course!) My 2008 Honda Fit was bought at 2 years old for less than 2/3 s of what I know the previous buyer paid (And, he got a good deal.) It costs me about 22 cents per mile to run. Year after year, it makes Consumers' Report list of the most reliable small cars to operate. I have, so far, replaced the battery and done routine maintenance. Later this year it will be due for its FIRST tune-up. I also expect to replace all four tire later this year and may have a brake job.
Whatever size of car you expect to need for your family and business, buying the best rated used car is definitely the way to go.
Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/04/2016 04:55PM by walesmaven.