Jackson uses his automobile 90% for business and during 2015 drove a total of 14
ID: 2454251 • Letter: J
Question
Jackson uses his automobile 90% for business and during 2015 drove a total of 14,000 miles. Information regarding his car expenses is listed below. Business parking $ 140 Auto insurance 1,300 Auto club dues (includes towing service) 180 Toll road charges (business-related) 200 Oil changes and engine tune-ups 210 Repairs 160 Depreciation allowable 2,850 Fines for traffic violations (incurred during business use) 320 Gasoline purchases 2,800 What is Jackson's deduction in 2015 for the use of his car if he uses? 1. The actual cost method? 2. The automatic mileage method?
Explanation / Answer
Jackson's Deduction in 2015 for car Expenses
Actual Expense Method
Expenses
Amt($)
Actual Expenses
Business Parking
140
140
Auto Insurance
1300
1170
Auto club dues (includes towing service)
180
162
Toll road charges (business-related)
200
200
Oil changes and engine tune-ups
210
189
Depreciation
2850
2565
Repairs
160
144
Fines for traffic violations (incurred during business use)
320
320
Gasoline purchases
2,800
2520
Total
7410
standard mileage rate (SMR) i
Total Business Miles
SMR(2015)
Expenses
14000
57.5
8050
Toll Charges
200
Business Parking
140
Total
8390
Two Methods Available to Compute Auto Expenses
There are two methods that can be used to compute your vehicle expense deduction for the business use of your car:
· Standard mileage rate. The standard mileage rate is generally easier to use and doesn't require you to keep as many records. It will generally be the preferred method if you do relatively little business driving. However, it's not available to everyone.
· Actual cost method. Using the actual cost method may result in a larger deduction, particularly with a relatively expensive car. However, the burden of keeping records for every penny you spend on the car may cause more trouble than the deduction is worth.
Determining Costs Using Actual Cost Method
When you use the actual cost method of determining your vehicle deduction, you must keep track of the actual amount of your costs during the year to calculate your deductible vehicle expenses. The amount of your deduction depends, to a large extent, on how good you are at saving receipts and jotting down your costs throughout the year.
The cost of operating a vehicle includes these expenses:
· cleaning, inside and out; waxing
· depreciation, if you own the vehicle
· gas and oil
· insurance
· interest on a vehicle loan
· lease payments, if you lease the vehicle
· license fees, if substantially based on the value of the vehicle
· motor club membership
· parking and garage rental
· personal property taxes
· repairs and maintenance
· tires and supplies
· tolls
· If you use the SMR method, you calculate the fixed and operating costs of your vehicle by multiplying the number of business miles traveled during the year by the business standard mileage rate. This rate is set by the IRS and is adjusted annually.
A traffic fine or traffic ticket is a notice issued by a law enforcement official to a motorist accusing violation of traffic laws. Traffic tickets generally come in two forms, citing a moving violation, such as exceeding the speed limit, or a non-moving violation, such as a parking violation. These tickets almost always imply the payment of a certain quantity of money. This cost might be completely unpredictable, but one way for the user to assess it, is to calculate per year the total money spent in fines, in the last few years.
Jackson's Deduction in 2015 for car Expenses
Actual Expense Method
Expenses
Amt($)
Actual Expenses
Business Parking
140
140
Auto Insurance
1300
1170
Auto club dues (includes towing service)
180
162
Toll road charges (business-related)
200
200
Oil changes and engine tune-ups
210
189
Depreciation
2850
2565
Repairs
160
144
Fines for traffic violations (incurred during business use)
320
320
Gasoline purchases
2,800
2520
Total
7410
standard mileage rate (SMR) i
Total Business Miles
SMR(2015)
Expenses
14000
57.5
8050
Toll Charges
200
Business Parking
140
Total
8390
Related Questions
Navigate
Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.