High Fuel Prices Equal Big Tax Deductions
Author: GetABiggerTaxBreakWhenPayingAtThePump Total views: 16 Word Count: 451
The IRS is an agency that has a reputation that is somewhere between Attila the Hun and baby seal hunters. While deserved, the agency actually is very responsive to current events that impact taxpayers. This includes the increase in gas prices.
The United States is home to tens of millions small businesses. One of the favorite deductions of these businesses is the business mileage deduction. You get to deduct a certain dollar figure for every business mile you drive.
How does the IRS determine the business mileage deduction rate? It is a hodge podge of factors including car insurance, vehicle depreciation and fuel costs. When one of these goes up, the IRS reacts to its credit.
The IRS sets the numerical figure that can be used for the tax deduction at the beginning of each year. For 2008, the figure declared was 50.5 cents a business mile. If you drive 1,000 miles in 2008 for business, you would be able to deduct $505.00.
Although the milege deduction rate is usually not changed, there is precedent for doing so. When prices are serious effected, the IRS can act on its own as it did during Katrina when gas prices shot up do to gas shortages in the South.
2008 has not seen a major hurricane, but fuel prices have exploded. One needs to only be reminded that in 2000, we were paying roughly $1.50 a gallon for gasoline on average across the country.
To say that gas prices have spiked this year is a slight understatement. The IRS has recognized as much and is adjusting the business mileage deduction according. For miles incurred in the last six months of 2008, the deduction figure is now 58.5 cents.
So, how do you calculate all of this? Well, it is actually pretty simple. Any business mileage you undertake from January 1 through June 30 is deductable using the 50.5 figure. Mileage after that is done at the 58.5 percent rate. Just add the two totals for your deduction.
There are two other mileage deductions you may be aware of. If you must move because of a new job, you can deduct your mileage as well. That rate for 2008 was 19 cents a mile. It has been bumped for the final six months to 27 cents.
There is one other deduction we need to mention. You can deduct certain mileage incurred while working with a charity. This is set by Congress and cannot by adjusted by the IRS, so there is no change.
Gas prices are rising to the point where people's conduct is being modified. A bigger tax deduction will not save you, but it certainly helps. Make sure to keep records of your mileage in case the IRS takes a closer look.
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Richard A. Chapo is with BusinessTaxRecovery.com - where you can learn more about automobile tax expenses. Don't reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.
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