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Mileage Charges

July 03, 2012 01:25PM
plmcut -- You missed my point. I was not discissing the drive time which Vince correctly stated is not deductible even when it is taxed income. What I was talking about was getting the cash for the IRS allowance and then taking the deduction. That gives you a net $1.10 per mile. You may have to wait to take that deduction but you would eventually get it and I have had mileage deductions that were actually more than the shop fee. It has nothing to do with drive time. However, if you don't think a net $71.50 is worth your effort, oh well.
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More About Mystery Shopping Taxes
July 03, 2012 03:22PM
I have used this method as well.cgruning Wrote:
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> I have only "made an offer" one time. It was
> three shops in a rural location that weren't too
> terribly far from each other. It went like this:
>
> These shops are XX miles from my home and a round
> trip will cost me about $XX in gas. I anticipate
> travel time to be XX and my time reporting and
> shopping to be XX. If you are willing to pay me
> $XX per hour for my travel, reporting, and
> shopping time, as well as the cost of the gas, I
> will give up my day to do these.
>
> I figured if I told them how I got that figure
> that maybe they'd decide it was reasonable... and
> they did smiling smiley
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July 03, 2012 03:26PM
With any distance more than 90 minutes round trip (depending how many jobs they have in the area and the amount each job pays) I request an hourly pay plus job. Sometimes they don't wish to know about particulars. They will ask the cost per job. Provide the cost including the travel time.plmccut Wrote:
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> Avitoots - Using the IRS mileage figure won't get
> you enough money. That only covers some of the
> car expenses You also need to consider the fact
> that you have drive time involved. The shop I'm
> talking about is about 65 miles from my home so
> that's over 2 hrs. drive time.
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July 03, 2012 03:38PM
Our calculations are quite interesting. Rather than calculating mileage, I use a basic hourly which is bumped up to cover gas costs and report time. Out of curiosity I recalculated a road trip from last week using Bob's method of 40 cents a mile and $15 an hour drive time. It was within a few bucks of my methodsmiling smiley

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
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July 03, 2012 04:22PM
so if I am doing a route that is 14 hours roundtrip, how much should the minimum I make for that route be?

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July 03, 2012 04:54PM
The minimum should be whatever makes it worthwhile for you, LOL! For me it would have to cover hotel and meals since that is just too long for one daywinking smiley

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
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July 07, 2012 12:51AM
Like anything else in life, people frequently want it as cheap as possible. MSC's are no exception. They put it out there at bottom basement prices, then wait to see who picks it up for the cheapest compensation. Consider your actual COST before suggesting mileage compensation...and start by asking the schedulers for a proposed amount. That may give you an idea of the kind of bonus they are thinking. If they offer $2 more, then maybe not. But if they start with $10, then maybe you would have undercut yourself, had you suggested $5 or $7.50 because you thought that $10 might have priced you out of the competition. Better to have gone high and lost than to go in low and then encounter unexpected expenses. Also, it helps establish your pride in your work (your opinion and professional evaluation of a business IS important...and not merely $1 important).
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