Taxpayers often have questions about deducting mileage on their personal vehicle. There are three types of tax-deductible mileage:
- Business miles.
- Medical miles.
- Charitable miles.
Charitable miles
Let’s say you provide volunteer services to a charity and you drive your personal vehicle. You can claim the mileage as a charitable contribution on Schedule A, Itemized Deductions. The mileage rate is 14 cents per mile. This rate is set by statute and does not change from year to year.
Medical miles
Any time you drive your personal vehicle to a medical appointment (doctor, dentist, chiropractor, eye doctor) or to pick up a prescription, that mileage is deductible as a medical expense on Schedule A, Itemized Deductions. Your total medical expenses, including mileage, must be greater than 10% of your adjusted gross income (7.5% if you were born before January 2, 1952).
The medical mileage rate is 17 cents per mile for 2017. This rate often changes from year to year based on an annual study of the variable costs of operating an automobile.
Business miles
If you drive your personal vehicle for work and your employer does not reimburse you for the mileage, you can deduct your mileage on Schedule A, Itemized Deductions as an unreimbursed employee expense. In addition to Schedule A, you will need to complete Form 2106, Employee Business Expenses.
If you drive your personal vehicle for your work as a self-employed business owner and you report your business income and expenses on Schedule C, you can deduct your mileage on Schedule C, Profit or Loss From Business.
The business mileage rate for 2017 is 53.5 cents per mile. Like the medical mileage rate, the business mileage rate changes from year to year. The change in the business mileage rate is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile.
Additional information
For all three mileage deductions, you need to keep written records to document your mileage. Your records need to include at least the following information:
- Date mileage driven.
- Purpose of the trip including where you drove and, if relevant, who you met with.
- Number of miles driven.