@johnb974 wrote:
I'm looking at getting a new computer and tablet as write offs. If you're out doing mystery shops and you stop for lunch is that a write off? I'm already writing off part of my internet and cell phone service.
@hbbigdaddy wrote:
Why is no one mentioning vehicle mileage? Is that just understood and we are not mentioning it?
@sandyf wrote:
Part time mystery shoppers , do you take a small percentage of the office equipment and such to write off?
@mystery2me wrote:
There are many different opinions on this matter. The IRS guidance says deduct meals only on overnight trips away from the general area of your home.
@BirdyC wrote:
@mystery2me wrote:
There are many different opinions on this matter. The IRS guidance says deduct meals only on overnight trips away from the general area of your home.
Can you cite the explicit section of the code that states this? I've been self employed in one capacity or another for about 40 years, and have never heard this, except on this forum. I've never found the documentation. The sections I've read state you can deduct meals taken while away from home on business, and all of my tax professionals have always asked for my meal expenses so they could deduct the 50%. The IRS doesn't expect a person to not eat if out on the road for business, and they don't expect you to pack your lunch and carry it in a cooler. If you're conducting legitimate business, having a meal and deducting it is allowed--as long as, as mentioned in this thread, it's not extravagant; it has to be a "normal" meal.
Let's say you're not a mystery shopper, but a business consultant, and you do a one-day trade show for a client. You can't leave the building to go home to eat, you can't bring your lunch because there's no refrigerator, etc. You have to eat. Why would that *not* be a business expense?
There seems to be a lot of confusion and misinformation about this topic, and I'm not sure why. It kind of seems a common-sense kind of thing.
@mystery2me wrote:
As far as meals during an ordinary work day not related to travel, I think there would have to be justification for why a business person should be able to take the deduction when a regular employee could not. And, yes, a lot of people pack their lunch and carry it in a cooler.
@kenasch wrote:
A tax write off is not a tax credit. I would not want to increase the chance of an audit for such a small benefit.
I used to take the standard mileage deduction until the trump tax revisions (in 2017 I think) ended my mileage tax deduction except for out-of-state job mileage@hbbigdaddy wrote:
Why is no one mentioning vehicle mileage? Is that just understood and we are not mentioning it?
@AZwolfman wrote:
I used to take the standard mileage deduction until the trump tax revisions (in 2017 I think) ended my mileage tax deduction except for out-of-state job mileage@hbbigdaddy wrote:
Why is no one mentioning vehicle mileage? Is that just understood and we are not mentioning it?
@BirdyC wrote:
W-2 employees really got the short end of the stick in 2017. They can't take home-office deductions, even if their employer's offices are located remotely. So, field salespeople, for example, who may live a couple hundred miles from their employers and who have a home office, can't deduct expenses. And I believe they can't claim auto expenses (if they claim actual expenses and not mileage), either. Apparently the (erroneous) assumption is that if you're a W-2 employee, you can work out of your employer's facility and you don't need a home office. What a joke.
My tax guy says that companies should pay these folks more money and give them company cars to make up for the loss of deductions. I agree.