If you are a business owner, you are probably looking for every opportunity to make or save more money. There are many different ways you can do this, and one of them is by taking advantage of the IRS 2017 optional standard mileage rates. You may use these rates for calculating the deductible costs of business vehicles that you are operating for medical, charitable, or moving purposes.
Before you continue with standardized mileage rates, ask yourself three simple questions:
- Is your company up-to-date on bookkeeping?
- Does your business track the miles for all of its vehicles?
- Does your business track which vehicles it uses for each job?
If you answered yes to the above questions, then you should probably get into the habit of mileage tracking. Keeping records of your company’s vehicles can help you save money in the long run when tax season comes around.
Interested now? Well, if you have decided that you want to start tracking your miles, you need to know how you are going to do it. If you plan to track everything manually, you will need the following information for your vehicles:
- Travel dates
- Purpose of traveling
- Names of the businesses visited
- Starting point and final destination
- Number of miles traveled
If you already track your company’s gas expenses, repair and maintenance costs, and registration, then the following probably does not apply to you. Below is information regarding standard mileage rates for the 2017 year.
Parking and toll expenses are 100% deductible if you are driving for business purposes only.
Beginning January 1, 2017, standard mileage rates for vehicles (including cars, vans, pickups, and panel trucks) have changed:
- 53.5 cents per mile for business miles driven (as opposed to 54 cents for 2016)
- 17 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes (as opposed to 19 cents for 2016)
- 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations
The table below summarizes the standard mileage rates for employees, self-employed individuals, or other taxpayers. You can use these for computing the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical, or moving expenses, especially if you are a real estate investor and a contractor in the construction industry.
| Period | Rates in cents per mile | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business | Charity | Medical Moving | ||
| 2017 | 53.5 | 14 | 17 | IR-2016-169 |
| 2016 | 54 | 14 | 19 | IR-2015-137 |
| 2015 | 57.5 | 14 | 23 | IR-2014-114 |
| 2014 | 56 | 14 | 23.5 | IR-2013-95 |
| 2013 | 56.5 | 14 | 24 | IR-2012-95 |
| 2012 | 55.5 | 14 | 23 | IRB-2012-02 |
| July 1 – Dec. 31, 2011 | 55.5 | 14 | 23.5 | IR-2011-69 |
| Jan. 1 – June 30, 2011 | 51 | 14 | 19 | IR-2010-119 |
| 2010 | 50 | 14 | 16.5 | IR-2009-111 |
| 2009 | 55 | 14 | 24 | IR-2008-131 |
| July 1 – Dec. 31, 2008 | 58.5 | 14 | 27 | IR-2008-82 |
| Jan. 1 – June 30, 2008 | 50.5 | 14 | 19 | IR-2007-192 |
| 2007 | 48.5 | 14 | 20 | IR-2006-168 |
| 2006 | 44.5 | 14 | 18 | IR-2005-138 |
| 2005 | 40.5 | 14 | 15 | IR-2004-139 Pub. L. 109-73 IR-2005-99 |
| 2004 | 37.5 | 14 | 14 | IR-2003-121 |
| 2003 | 36 | 14 | 12 | Rev. Proc. 2002-61 |
| 2002 | 36.5 | 14 | 13 | Rev. Proc. 2001-54 |
| 2001 | 34.5 | 14 | 12 | Rev. Proc. 2000-48 2000-2 C.B. 570 |
| 2000 | 32.5 | 14 | 10 | Rev. Proc. 99-38 1999-2 C.B. 525 |
| 1999 | 31 | 14 | 10 | Announcement 99-7 1999-1 C.B. 306 Rev. Proc. 98-63 1998-2 C.B. 818 |
| 1998 | 32.5 | 14 | 10 | Rev. Proc. 97-58 1997-2 C.B. 587 |
| 1997 | 31.5 | 12 | 10 | Rev. Proc. 96-63 1996-2 C.B. 420 |
This ability would come quite in handy if you have not filed your tax returns for a few years. By tracking the miles of vehicles used for your business, you can get a decent amount of money back on tax returns. You may have much broader visions for making money for your company, rather than just earning some amount from tax returns, but remember—every opportunity and every cent count. The money you get back from tax returns eventually adds up in the long run, so what’s stopping you now? Start tracking your business miles, and start saving yourself some more money!
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