How do I get my tax estimate to reflect my Actual Vehicle Expenses?

I didn't see a way to put more information passed the title, but I am looking at the Schedule C page and it has my vehicle expenses at $0 because I'm not using the mileage calculator option. Meanwhile my ACTUAL expenses are ~44000, but I can't figure out a way to have the Schedule C summary reflect that. 

Thanks for reaching out to us here today, @gqsmoos-hotmail-.

I'll share the steps on how you can record your vehicle expense. You can add your actual vehicle expense manually. Just make sure to categorize it correctly. This way, it'll be posted in your Schedule C. Let me guide you how.

1. Go to Transactions.
2. Select Add transaction.
3. Enter the details and then tap the Select a category link.
4. Click Save.

Want more details? Check out these guides: 

• Manually add transactions in QuickBooks Self-Employed.

• Schedule C and expense categories in QuickBooks Self-Employed.

Additionally, click this link to view all articles in QBSE: Browse all articles for your product.

Drop a reply anytime if you still have questions or concerns with vehicle expenses. I'm more than happy to assist you. Take care and have a nice day ahead.

I do all that. The expenses are *there* they just aren’t the ones the quickbooks are using. Vehicle expenses under schedule C are listed at $0. If I click into then it SAYS I scan either use the standard mileage for $0 or the actual expenses for $44000. But I can’t figure out how to actually get it to do that. It seems stuck on standard and QB thinks I owe truce as much in taxes as is my profit. 

I do all that. Quickbooks has the expenses listed under Schedule C. It just isn’t using them as part of the calculation. 

there’s the list of expenses. Vehicles is listed as $0. If I click vehicles, it says I can either use standard mileage for $0 or actual expenses for $44000 but I can’t find any way to actually make that choice. 

Hello gqsmoos-hotmail-!

Let me explain further how the system handles mileage deductions.

QuickBooks Self-Employed uses the standard mileage method but you can still track your actual expenses. It'll show $0 on the Vehicle expenses since you're not using the mileage tracker.

For the Actual Expenses Method, you'll need to track all the money actually spent in the operation of your vehicle. Then, you'll need to multiply it by the percentage of the vehicle’s business use.

Since you already tracked all the expenses, you'll need to update your vehicle info. From there, you can set the business percentage from your total miles.

1. Go to the Miles menu.
2. Click the Add trip drop-down and select Edit vehicle.
3. From the Estimated business miles section, adjust the business percentage by moving the circle from the line provided.
4. Tap Save.

If the expenses you added are all business-related, then you can maximize the business miles percentage. Once done, go back to the Taxes menu and review the Vehicle expenses of your total Schedule C deductions. You should now be able to see the deductions on your actual expenses.

Please check this link: Learn how QuickBooks Self-Employed calculates mileage deductions. This will explain more about how the system tracks your mileage.

Do you need to transfer your tax info to TurboTax? Here's another article about that: Send QuickBooks Self-Employed tax info to TurboTax Self-Employed or Live.

Leave a comment again here if you need anything else. I'll help you!

No luck. Added the vehicle like you instructed but nothing changed except that the vehicle is now listed under Schedule C. Yesterday, I added my first expense under Tolls (most everything else is Gas or just "Other") and that expense works like expected which is even more strange because if I add a trip (which I did as an experiment) it will count both the trip under standard and the toll under actual even though it specifically says that I can't use both. 

I guess I'll have to look for a different service. 

Did you find a better solution? Everything I've read says that only self-employed estimates quarterly taxes, but that there's no way to make the tax estimate include actual vehicle expenses.

Thank you for joining in on the thread, HeatherV1979.

I can see that Alex has already shared good information about how QuickBooks Self-Employed keeps track of vehicle expenses. At this point, I recommend contacting our QB Self-Employed Support. They are the best person to check your setup further and they have more tools on their end.

Please don't hesitate to comment below if you have other questions.