Claiming on Taxes

I do shift work so my car trip to and from the client's house is just like going to and from a regular job. If I were doing intermittent work, then I might consider deducting for business use of my car. My husband deducted for business use of his car. You have to keep meticulous records of your mileage and other car expenses to do this, in case you get questioned.

Any expenses that you are reimbursed for cannot be claimed. If you are getting paid per mile your gas is reimbursed. Otherwise, you can deduct it but it has to be more than a certain percent (can't remember how much) of your adjusted gross income. If you file jointly then your spouses income counts too. My expenses never added up to enough to deduct.

I'd check with a tax professional on that one. I think that the tax allowance for mileage reimbursement is $0.50 per mile, and if you're only being reimbursed at $0.32 per mile, then you may be able to claim the additional $0.18 per mile at tax time--if you've kept all your records. But as pointed out above, you have to have enough itemizable expenses to deduct. Not sure, but I think if you work as an independent contractor, then you are required to itemize. That definitely something that many of us need to look into. You can claim a portion of your cell phone usage, save the itemized bills to show what you use for work. If you get faxes at home or print work-related information from your home computer (pt teaching guides, pt records, etc.) then you can also deduct a portion of the paper and ink supplies you use. Your best bet is to keep meticulous records of absolutely everything and invest in a good tax preparer when the time comes.