Poguemahone

Okay, I'm doing my taxes, and my accountant asks me why I have so few miles on my car (I write off some of the mileage, where it's business related). I tell him I cycle to most of my work.

He suggests I buy a new bike and write the darn thing off as a business expense. Apparently I can, as long as it's for business commuting only. It would be less than the tax deduction I'd get for buying a new SUV, but who wants one of those when there are Colnagos out there?

Today I put in forty miles on my bike(s), all of it work-related. Since I work at more than one site for more than one company (basically, I am an independent contractor/ self-employed type individual), apparently I can do this.

Anyone done anything similar?

Sailguy

So do you get to deduct miles? Or just the bike itself?

Being able to deduct miles would turn into a profit quickly.

Pete Clark

Heck, you might as well try to deduct food as "fuel," too. I believe it's been done before. I mean, you actually work harder for those miles than people who drive. Why should they get all the breaks for being wasteful?

a2psyklnut

Haven't done it.......this year! Probably next! Thanks for the tip!

L8R

Poguemahone

"So do you get to deduct miles? Or just the bike itself?"

Apparently either. I need to investigate this more, obviously. I'm fairly certain at this point I can deduct the bike, although if it's expensive enough, I may have to depreciate it. I'm not positive about the miles. Given the amount the government gives for mileage in a car, if they allow that for a bike, yeah, I'd rack up the savings quickly.

The main concern is that some tax geek will see the bike as a "toy" and not a working machine.

However I use bikes to go to the copy shop, mail out artwork, transportation to my teaching jobs (all of which are done on an independent contacting basis), buy supplies, meet clients, you name it.

Styk33

If you buy a new bike for just commuting then you can write it off. Since I doubt that mileage would be a write-off, the repairs you do to it would be a write-off also. You cannot write-off mileage and repairs though.

jatkins679

I hate to be the party pooper on this thread. But before you start counting your tax deduction eggs before they've hatched, I would strongly suggest that you determine if you are legally an IC or not first and then go from there.

There's no 'basically' or 'apparently' about being an IC or not vis-a-vis tax law. Either you are an IC or you aren't in the eyes of the IRS, the opinion of which is going to be the only one that matters.

If you screw it up and try to take advantage of deductions as an IC that you aren't entitled to, you're just making headaches for yourself... and giving the IRS a reason to delve into your return even more.

If you trust that your accountant knows what he's talking about when it comes to the law, then great. But since your post suggests you are not completely clear if you are truly an IC or not to begin with, I would suggest that you get a lot more info and opinions from different trusted sources about your IC status first and then whatever you might deduct as IC expenses second (if applicable).

It might seem logical what you're doing and saying when it comes to the law (for the most part it does to me). But if tax law is nothing else, it isn't predictably reasonable or just in many, many cases.

JMTS.

AndrewP

Some years ago a bike courier in Toronto had a big fight with the tax man over whether he could charge food as a business expense, similar to taxi drivers charging gasoline as an expense. Eventually the courts ruled in the biker's favour.

MediaCreations 

My job is to organise fund raising bike rides. Therefore I can claim everything to do with my bikes. Every time I turn a pedal I'm increasing / maintaining my bike fitness which is essential to my work.

Pete Clark

MediaCreations,

You make me sick!

Chi

Do these deductions only apply to business owners?

Poguemahone

I'm an IC. I average between fifteen and twenty 1099's a year. There are a handfull of regular clients plus a few new ones every year. With that many 1099's, I doubt the IRS figures me for anything else. Either that, or I have twenty part time jobs.

What worries me is there are a couple of jobs where I could be considered an employee (university and art center), since I go to their site to work. The line can get very hazy between what the tax man considers an IC and an employee.

However, I've been taking legal deductions for a home office/studio for years now, as well as several other deductions, and have filed a schedule C (profit/loss from business) for a long, long, time-- back at least eight or nine tax cycles now (I'd have to check).

So it should be a legit deduction. I'd like to know if anyone else is doing it.

I do intend to research the issue further. Was hoping some of you had run into it.

Brains

This months CTC magazine has an entire article relelated to tex deductable cycling, both for employers and employees