Claiming Mileage

Question regarding claiming mileage as a professional expense:

Can a pastor who has a residence in his church town, plus an office and a one year contract claim mileage as a professional expense from another town in which he has a residence?

Vickey's reply

No. Mileage from your residence to the church you work for is considered commuting miles and is not a deductible expense.

However, mileage from your residence or church to a hospital, member's house, nursing home, etc. and back would be an allowable expense if it was in regards to performing your job.

If your church has an account reimbursement policy, you can turn these miles into your church for reimbursement. If your church does not have an AR policy, then you can use those allowable miles on your personal tax return.

Make sure whichever way you claim your mileage, you faithfully keep a mileage log with the date, odometer reading (start and finish), and purpose of travel.

Comments for Claiming Mileage

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Jan 23, 2020
auto expenses; mileage, or cost?
by: George Obregon

Generally, isn't it easier to keep track of auto expenses: gas, oil, repairs, car washes, and so forth since all receipts are kept, rather than keeping track of mileage?

Thanks for any responses.
/George

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If you want to DIY your payroll, I highly recommend you look at using Gusto! It is very user friendly and their support is awesome! Plus they know how to set up and maintain payrolls for churches and nonprofit organizations.

Note: I am a "partner" of Gusto, but as I have told you before ... I never recommend anything that we or our clients have not tried and love =)



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