who all shows a loss on 1099 income

[underdog777]

i tryed to figure my taxes. And with just per diem and standerd miles. And qualcom and the workers comp insurance. Ive come up with a loss of 37 dollars for the year. Im just wondering if i should file this are not. Also on the per diem do you have to prove you spent 59 dollars a day if audited. And the mileage part i drive a van so i wrote all miles paid and deadhead not paid miles.

 

[RLENT]

i tryed to figure my taxes. And with just per diem and standerd miles. And qualcom and the workers comp insurance. Ive come up with a loss of 37 dollars for the year. Im just wondering if i should file this are not.

First let say me say that you should really get an accountant or tax preparer - if not on an ongoing basis, then at least for the first year (if that's what this is), so that he can educate you a little.

For one thing, there is a limitation by the IRS on how many years you can show a loss before they will consider your "business" a hobby rather than a real business .... (it must show a profit for at least one year, within so many years after startup)

EO member FKatz (Frank Katz ?) provides accounting services I believe, is familiar with trucking, and provides helpful advice here online.

Also on the per diem do you have to prove you spent 59 dollars a day if audited.

No - it's an allowance, which you get a percentage of (80 ?)

You have the choice of taking the allowance or actual expenses (or a percentage thereof) - generally, if you are living on the cheap on the road, your better off taking the allowance.

And the mileage part i drive a van so i wrote all miles paid and deadhead not paid miles.

I believe you are legally entitled to deduct all miles driven for a business purpose.

This clearly would include deadhead miles to pickup a load ..... and if your carrier requires you to TripPak or Transflo your freight bills in, it would also include any miles driven to a truckstop to do so .... as well as any miles driven on a empty move (paid or unpaid) to reposition yourself for better freight opportunities .... and so on ....

IOW, any miles driven for a legitimate business reason.

 

[layoutshooter]

I would suggest the you get an accountant that understands trucking. There is no use in messing around, after all, it is the IRS you would be messing around with.

 

[Ragman]

. . . after all, it is the IRS you would be messing around with.

. . . . . . . . .

 

[cableguymn]

My CPA has been through over 200 audits in his 40 years in the business. Won every one of them. Find one that is not afraid to deal with an audit. (and has a good track record of coming out the winner) those are the ones that find EVERY deduction you can take


The ones that have never been through an audit are the ones that are afraid to take some deductions because of the audit risk.

 

[blizzard2014]

I had to recreate 4 years of mileage and per diem and I did it all myself on tax slayer. I can prove every mile via one bank card transaction to another. I can prove all of my per diem by having literally no transactions even close to California for most of that time and a bank card transaction in multiple states each week. I eneded up oweing some money because I could not prove everything on paper and since I paid 200 bucks or so in taxes for each year, the IRS told me that there are no flags on my file for audit and that everything looks good. I hope it stays that way.

But like Rlent stated, you can only decuct 80 percent of a hundred percent of your per diem. I calculated my per diem at a 40 dollar a day average and multiplied that by the amount of days that I claimed and then multiplied that total amount by 80 and came up with my allowable per diem. I do a lot of deadheading and one way trips, so it only stands to reason that my mileage deducations are really high! I also have all of my bank statements, mileage charts and calculations, per diem charts, and all supporting evidence in a nice big file that I can hand over to the IRS at any given point in time and all of my deductiuons can be re-calculated and proven within 15 minutes.

Remember that the IRS does require you to keep "contemporaneous" records, but if you are not good at keeping records you can cite the "cohen rule" and the appeals jughe "not the auditor" will allow you to recreate your records based on reasonable evidence such as bank receipts and other receipts that you can throw together to support your deductions. The cohen rule has been upheld for 72 years and must be extended to you if you do not have records to support your deductions. I read for weeks to discover thos rule "you can look it up on wikipedia" and a lot of people are not informed on this rule.

Here is the cohen rule: http://www.pappasontaxes.com/index.php/2008/08/06/can-a-taxpayer-estimate-his-deductible-expenses/

 

[Moot]

My CPA has been through over 200 audits in his 40 years in the business. Won every one of them.

What type of client base does your CPA draw from? Seems like a lot of red flags. Maybe it is your CPA's name as the paid preparer that is the giant red flag with the IRS. I'm not sure how a CPA wins an audit, but if he is keeping score, I'm sure the IRS is also keeping score.

Personally I prefer a less flamboyant account and one that is not on a first name basis with the IRS auditors. IRS audits are a lot like DOT inspections. If they want to find a discrepancy, they will. Its their game, their rules and open to their interpretation.

 

[ChrisGa23]

I need to find me someone good for taxes. I use my aunt but she doesn't know alot about trucking so I feel I may not be getting everything done properly. Is ATBS any good ? I know they cost 50 a month

Load One #188

 

[asjssl]

I use frank he is on here ...good guy prompt...knows his stuff...he charges 250 per year ..

Sent from my ADR6300 using EO Forums

 

[greg334]

It does not matter if you use a trucking accountant or someone who knows business taxpreping at this point. Even Turbotax will help you straighten out the mess. You need to understand the difference between using the vehicle for business and pleasure, in any case, if the van is used for this work, then it is used for this work only and everything (mileage, expenses, etc. ... is a write off)

Per Diem rates are based on your days away from home, so in a theoritical case, being on the road for 12 weeks gives you 84 days on the road and that means you can take $3946 claimed on your taxes OR (84*$59)*.8 whether or not you spent that much money. NOW IF you spent more, too bad because the IRS will tell you to take the per diem rate any ways.

The mileage/van expenses thing can be either way for a van, but you can't change it once you decide which way to go. If you take the expense way, then every receipt for oil changes, tires and so on have to be accounted for but the mileage way, it is simple - starting mileage at the beginning of the year minus the mileage at the end of the year times the mileage rate (what ever it is). It should cover all the maintenance and fuel for the van and then some.

The problem with Audits is no one wins, it is something that you go into to limit the amount of damage that they can do, as Moot said "Its their game, their rules and open to their interpretation."

 

[BobWolf]

I get my records together, I pay abbout $ 150 bucks to hire my CPA to do my taxes and its done right. He knows the tax rules I dont. I dont like spending money but its well worth the money. By the way in most cases you can write off tax preperation.

 

[Fkatz]

Hi All,

it seems that there is quite a bit confusion on what the per diem is,
The per diem is a reimbursement for food only, since most of sleep in out vehicles,
it is based on $59.00 per day subject to 80%, So if your figuring and inputing that figure into any over the counter software (turbotax, Tax Act, Tax Cut.) you must put in the full amount, and make sure you find the line or Letter to enter for SUBJECT TO DOT REGS. otherwise it will only take 50% instead of 80% of the total entered.
You also must figure the days that you leave your home based on the time, the day is calculated by quarter days, starting at Midnight, in otherwords if you leave you home at 3PM you only can take 1/2 a Day, it is the same with returning.

YOU MUST BE OUT MORE THAN 24 HOURS, AND TRAVEL OVERNIGHT. YOU CANNOT TAKE THE PER DIEM IF YOU ARE A LOCAL DRIVER WHO LEAVES HOME, GOES TO THE TERMINAL TO PICK UP HIS TRUCK, TAKES ALOAD AND RETURNS TO THE TERMINAL, THEN GOES HOME, THAT IS CONSIDERED A LOCAL DRIVER AND THE PER DIEM IS NOT ALLOWED, THE RADIUS IS 250 MILES 1 WAY.

If you use the mileage, there are rules that you must comply with.
You must keep records for each load, meaning From Home, Truckstop, or anywhere you lay your head to the Pick-Up, Deliver, and to a truckstop or Wal-mart Parking Lot to sleep, or waiting for the next load, But inorder to take the mileage deduction you must be in a Cargo Van, Pickup truck with 12 ft box with a GVW of no more than 10,000 lbs, other wise you must use Actiual Expenses.

Plus if the Cargo van is your only vehicle you must deduct Approx 15% of the total mileage for the year for that personal use. The IRS does not like to see any mileage deduction over 95,000 miles. otherwise thre is a good possibility of an Audit.

I have l a Per Diem/Mileage record for Cargo Vans available to all who email me directly, along with a complete deduction listing that you can use.
Thank you
If you have any additional question please do not hesitate to ask, I am here 1 per week to help you, mainly on Friday, if I am not busy with cleints
Frank’s Tax and Business Service
120 York Rd
Kings Mountain, NC 28086-3151
(704) 739-4039 Fax: (704) 739-3934
e-mail: [email protected]
Web Site: http://prep.1040.com/frankstax
Franklin Katz, ATP, PA, PB,

Providing Professional Accounting, Bookkeeping, Payroll and Income Tax Preparation Services

Circular 230 Disclaimer – Any tax advice in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding related
penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (2) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or tax
related matters addressed herein.