using work truck as personal vehicle

[Duekster]

Originally Posted by yardguy28

true there's nothing wrong with financing but there's nothing wrong with having money up front for things either.

I personally never purchase business items unless I have 100% of the money up front. all equipment has always been paid for 100% up front. that includes my truck and trailer to the mowers and handhelds and anything in between.

Good for you.

[yardguy28]

Originally Posted by Richard Martin

You're supposed to keep mileage logs either way. Most guys only find out about that at an audit.

according to my accountant if the truck is strictly used for business and filled with gas paid for from the business account you don't.

I keep track of the mileage because its my personal truck as well and I use my personal money to fill it.

when I got into the business my accountant told me I either need to fill it with a business card or keep track of the mileage. I chose to keep track of the mileage.

[ted putnam]

Originally Posted by yardguy28

true there's nothing wrong with financing but there's nothing wrong with having money up front for things either.

I personally never purchase business items unless I have 100% of the money up front. all equipment has always been paid for 100% up front. that includes my truck and trailer to the mowers and handhelds and anything in between.

That's great if you can do it and not leave your azz hanging out but the interest you pay is a deduction so it's not like you are throwing that money away. You are just buying time. I pay for all supplies up front whenever possible. However, capital expenditures I make are generally financed unless under 4-5K. That way all of my money is not tied up in a single piece of equipment, leaving me broke if there is an unseen expense that arises. Cash management is the name of the game when growing a business.

[Darryl G]

Originally Posted by yardguy28

according to my accountant if the truck is strictly used for business and filled with gas paid for from the business account you don't.

I keep track of the mileage because its my personal truck as well and I use my personal money to fill it.

when I got into the business my accountant told me I either need to fill it with a business card or keep track of the mileage. I chose to keep track of the mileage.

You still need to report how many miles you used the truck in a year, even if it's solely for business purposes.

I have no idea why you would use your personal money to fill the truck. You're using after tax money for a business expense if you do that. You just can't deduct the percentage of the cost of operating the vehilce that is related to personal use, but I don't think you need to use your personal money to fill it.

Lets say you put 20k miles on your truck in a year and 12k was business use and 8k was personal use. You would be able to deduct 60% of the your vehicle expenses as a business expense.

[Richard Martin]

Originally Posted by yardguy28

according to my accountant if the truck is strictly used for business and filled with gas paid for from the business account you don't.

I keep track of the mileage because its my personal truck as well and I use my personal money to fill it.

I personally prefer to defer to the IRS rules over an accountant. It is clearly stated.

date you started using it for business, the mileage for each business use, and the total miles for the year.

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p463...blink100034066

There are no other qualifiers such as for business use only or only if you claim the mileage is this required.

[Duekster]

Originally Posted by Richard Martin

I personally prefer to defer to the IRS rules over an accountant. It is clearly stated.

date you started using it for business, the mileage for each business use, and the total miles for the year.

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p463...blink100034066

There are no other qualifiers such as for business use only or only if you claim the mileage is this required.

Then you should look at this page too

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p946...link1000107677

[Richard Martin]

Originally Posted by Duekster

Then you should look at this page too

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p946...link1000107677

It's a big page, what am I looking for?

[yardguy28]

Originally Posted by Richard Martin

I personally prefer to defer to the IRS rules over an accountant. It is clearly stated.

date you started using it for business, the mileage for each business use, and the total miles for the year.

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p463...blink100034066

There are no other qualifiers such as for business use only or only if you claim the mileage is this required.

well if you had a trusted accountant like I do maybe you would. so I'm gonna stick with what he tells me since its worked for me since I've been in business and has worked for my father the 30+ years he's been in business.

[Duekster]

Originally Posted by Richard Martin

It's a big page, what am I looking for?

There are lots of examples of documenting and it does not have to be a log book

[Richard Martin]

Originally Posted by Duekster

There are lots of examples of documenting and it does not have to be a log book

The two sections contradict one another. I wonder which one the auditor would use?