Can I deduct parking expenses for my daily work commute on my tax return?

I've been commuting to my office downtown for about 2 years now, and parking is killing me financially. I'm currently paying about $285 per month just to park my car in a garage near my workplace. My employer doesn't cover parking or offer any commuter benefits. With tax season coming up, I'm wondering if there's any way I can deduct these parking expenses on my tax return? Would these count as a business expense or some other type of deduction? I'm trying to find any legitimate way to offset these costs, as they add up to over $3400 a year! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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18 comments

Atticus Domingo

•8M

Unfortunately, regular commuting expenses, including parking at your regular workplace, aren't tax-deductible for most employees. The IRS considers these personal expenses, not business expenses. There are a few exceptions though. If you're self-employed and have a qualified home office, parking at client sites (not your office) could be deductible. Also, if you work at multiple job sites in a single day, the transportation between those sites might qualify. But regular parking at your main workplace isn't deductible even if your employer doesn't reimburse you. One potential option is to ask your employer about setting up a pre-tax parking benefit program. This would allow you to pay for parking with pre-tax dollars, effectively giving you a discount equal to your tax rate.

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Atticus Domingo

•8M

Working from home part-time doesn't change the tax treatment - parking at your regular workplace is still considered a personal commuting expense even if you don't go there every day. For your second question, if your employer requires you to have your car available for work-related trips during the day, it still doesn't make your regular parking deductible. However, any additional business travel during your workday (like driving to client meetings) would potentially be deductible as a business expense if your employer doesn't reimburse you. Keep detailed records of these business-related trips separate from your regular commute.

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Morita Montoya

•8M

After struggling with this exact issue last year, I found a real lifesaver called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai). I was desperately looking for ways to deduct my $250/month parking fees and getting conflicting advice from friends and online forums. I uploaded my expenses and some work documents to taxr.ai, and it quickly analyzed my situation. It confirmed what others have said - regular commuting parking isn't deductible, BUT it identified that I qualified for a commuter benefit program I didn't know about through my employer. It also found some other deductions related to my side gig that more than made up for the parking expenses I couldn't deduct. The analysis was super detailed and gave me confidence when filing.

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Morita Montoya

•8M

It definitely handles complex situations well. I'm self-employed with a side W-2 job, and it correctly identified which of my parking expenses were deductible (client visits) versus non-deductible (regular commute). It also helped me separate the business portions of my travel between locations, which was super helpful for maximizing deductions. For your question about how it differs from regular tax software, it's more like having a tax expert analyze all your documents before you even start with tax software. It found several deductions my accountant missed last year, especially around my home office and business travel. It examines all your documents together and identifies patterns and opportunities that most software doesn't catch until you specifically input that information.

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Joy Olmedo

•8M

I was really skeptical about taxr.ai when I first saw it mentioned here, but with my complicated parking situation (I work at three different hospitals), I decided to give it a try. I'm actually shocked at how helpful it was! The system analyzed my work schedule and locations and clearly showed which parking expenses were deductible (traveling between hospitals during the same workday) versus my regular commute parking (not deductible). It even created a tracking template that I can use throughout the year to document deductible versus non-deductible parking. It also found a transportation benefit my employer offers that I had no idea existed! Already signed up and will be saving about $75/month in taxes. Seriously worth checking out if you have any complicated work travel situations.

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Isaiah Cross

•8M

After spending THREE HOURS on hold with the IRS trying to get a straight answer about deducting parking expenses (and then getting disconnected!), I found https://claimyr.com and it changed everything. They got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 20 minutes! You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was finally able to get an official answer about my specific parking situation directly from the IRS. The agent confirmed that my regular workplace parking wasn't deductible, but since I'm required to use my car for business during the day, I could deduct mileage for those business trips (though still not the parking). Having an official answer with a reference number saved me from making a potentially expensive mistake on my taxes.

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Isaiah Cross

•8M

It uses an automated system to wait on hold for you. Once they get through to an IRS representative, you get a call back to connect with the agent who's already on the line. So basically, their system waits on hold instead of you having to do it yourself. They definitely don't record your question or make up answers. You speak directly with the actual IRS agent yourself - Claimyr just handles the hold time part. I was skeptical too until I tried it and was speaking with a real IRS employee who identified herself and provided her ID number. You can ask any tax questions you want once you're connected.

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Evelyn Kelly

•8M

Well, I need to eat my words. After posting my skeptical comment, I was still desperate for help with my tax situation so I tried Claimyr anyway. I'm honestly shocked to say it actually worked exactly as advertised. I got a call back in about 35 minutes and was connected to an IRS representative named Marcus who answered all my questions about my work parking situation. He confirmed that while my regular parking isn't deductible, the parking fees I pay when visiting clients definitely are (as a self-employed consultant). He also explained exactly how to document these expenses properly to avoid audit issues. The service saved me from sitting on hold for hours, and the clear answers I got will probably save me hundreds in taxes by helping me correctly classify my various parking expenses. I'm still surprised this actually works!

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Paloma Clark

•8M

You should ask your HR about "Qualified Transportation Benefits" or "Commuter Benefits Program." These are IRS Section 132 benefits that let you use pre-tax dollars for commuting costs including parking. For 2025, the monthly limit is $300 for qualified parking (up from $280 in 2023). Your company would need to set up the program, but it's relatively easy for them and actually saves them on payroll taxes too, so they might be receptive if enough employees request it. My company uses a third-party administrator that gives us a special debit card for parking expenses.

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Heather Tyson

•8M

Just want to point out that if you're self-employed or have your own business, the rules are totally different! I'm a consultant and I CAN deduct parking when: - Meeting clients - Going to temporary work locations - Attending business meetings away from my home office - Going to professional conferences The key is that my home office is my principal place of business, so any travel from there for business purposes (including parking) is deductible. Make sure you keep really good records though - the IRS loves to challenge these deductions.

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