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jeltzenterprises
Level 1

What portions of a road-trip can I claim if I do a normal workload at destination (DoorDash), i.e. home to lodging, lodging to work area,or only the miles while working?

I am a driver for DoorDash for a majority of my income.

Last year I took several trips in my work/personal car outside my tax home to another city, but within the same state. I stayed outside that city for 2 nights and did 1 normal day of work during each trip in addition to personal sightseeing.

These are not trips I had to take for business, but I did my normal daily work while on them.

Example: Home to lodging and back home: 204mi (61%)

Lodging to and from work area: 77mi (23%)

Work miles: 52mi (16%)

Total trip: 333mi

1 Comment 1
Rea_M
Moderator

What portions of a road-trip can I claim if I do a normal workload at destination (DoorDash), i.e. home to lodging, lodging to work area,or only the miles while working?

Hello there, @jeltzenterprises.

 

I'm here to share details about the portions of a road-trip that you can claim in QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE). This way, you'll be able to determine the total mileage you can deduct from your taxes.

 

QBSE automatically calculates the total mileage that you can write off once it's tax time. If you use your car only for business purposes, you may deduct its entire cost of operation. However, if you use the car for both business and personal purposes, you'll have to deduct only the cost of its business use.

 

The system uses the standard mileage rate from the IRS to estimate your tax. It multiplies your total business by the current rate (58 cents for 2019). Using your own or lease car, you can deduct the miles you drove for work-related purposes (DoorDash). Here are some examples:

  • Driving for a rideshare company
  • Going between offices or work locations
  • Picking up supplies
  • Dropping off orders
  • Having coffee with clients


To track your total mileage deduction, you'll have to add your business trips in your QBSE account. Then, review your total mileage deduction in the Miles menu. Where you can check your miles driven and the current mileage rate from the IRS.

 

I'd also recommend consulting your accountant or DoorDash to verify what portions of your trip you can claim. This way, you'll be able to keep your books accurate and file the correct tax amount to the IRS.

 

To learn more about the differences between standard mileage deduction and actual expenses, kindly refer to this article for the detailed information: Standard mileage method versus actual expenses for vehicles.

 

Moreover, I've also included a very helpful article from the IRS about how to deduct your mileage when using a car for business purposes: Topic No. 510 Business Use of Car. It includes an explanation about depreciation, recordkeeping, and where to deduct your self-employed car expenses.

 

Please let me know if you have other concerns. I'm just around to help.

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