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Luca Marino

Can I write off a newly purchased car as a legitimate business expense for my recruiting company?

I run a small recruiting firm (just me as the only employee) and work from home primarily. I'm seriously thinking about buying a new car soon. The issue is that my current vehicle has a cracked windshield, peeling paint, and generally looks pretty rough. When I drive to meet clients or take prospects to lunch, I feel like it's giving off the wrong impression about my business success. As superficial as that might sound, I really need a car that better represents my company's professional image when meeting clients and commuting to appointments. I'd still use the vehicle for personal stuff too, but since I mainly work from home, I'm wondering how the IRS tracks or views that distinction? What are the rules around writing off a new car purchase as a business expense in my situation? Are there specific guidelines about percentage of business use or documentation I need to maintain? Would leasing vs buying make any difference tax-wise?

Nia Davis

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So there are definitely ways to deduct vehicle expenses for your business, but there are very specific rules you need to follow. You can't just write off the entire car purchase as a business expense if you're also using it personally. You have two options for deducting vehicle expenses: the standard mileage rate or actual expenses method. With standard mileage, you track all your business miles and multiply by the IRS rate (65.5 cents per mile for 2023). With actual expenses, you track all car expenses (gas, insurance, repairs, depreciation) and deduct the business percentage. The key thing to understand is that you can only deduct the portion used for business. If you use the car 60% for business and 40% personally, you can only deduct 60% of the expenses. And yes, the IRS definitely expects you to track and document this split - they absolutely care about personal vs. business use. For a new car, you might also look into Section 179 deduction, but there are vehicle weight requirements and limitations for passenger vehicles.

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Luca Marino

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Thanks for the detailed response. So with the actual expenses method, could I potentially deduct a portion of the car payment itself? And what kind of documentation would I need to keep to prove business use percentage? Just a mileage log?

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Nia Davis

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For the actual expenses method, you can't deduct the car payments directly, but you can deduct depreciation of the vehicle based on your business use percentage. If you finance the car, you can deduct the interest portion of your payments as a business expense (again, multiplied by your business use percentage). You definitely need to keep a mileage log showing business vs. personal miles. Record the date, business purpose, destination, and miles driven for each business trip. Many people use smartphone apps now to track this automatically. The IRS can be particularly strict about vehicle documentation during audits, so keep those records for at least 3 years after filing.

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Mateo Perez

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Aisha Rahman

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How does it handle vehicles that are used part business/part personal? My accountant tells me different things each year and I'm never sure what's correct anymore.

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Does it actually tell you whether you should do the standard mileage or the actual expenses method? My problem is I don't know which one would save me more money and I'm leasing an electric vehicle which complicates things.

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Mateo Perez

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It absolutely handles mixed business/personal use vehicles - that's actually where it's most valuable. It asks you to estimate your expected business use percentage and then shows you the documentation you need to maintain to support that claim with the IRS. It also warns you about common audit triggers related to vehicle deductions. For your situation with the electric vehicle lease, it would compare both methods side-by-side showing you the exact dollar difference between standard mileage and actual expenses based on your specific vehicle. It factors in the special rules for leases and even includes the available tax credits for electric vehicles in its calculations. I was surprised how much money I was leaving on the table before I ran the numbers.

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Ethan Brown

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Don't forget about insurance implications when using your car for business! My insurance premiums went up when I disclosed business use, but when I had a fender bender while driving to a client, the insurance company initially tried to deny the claim because they said I was using a personal policy for business driving. Make sure you have the right coverage!

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Luca Marino

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Thats a really good point I hadn't considered. Did you end up getting special business insurance for your vehicle or is there some kind of rider they add to a personal policy?

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I ended up getting what they call a "business use endorsement" added to my personal auto policy. It increased my premium by about 15%, but it properly covers me when I'm driving for business purposes. Some insurance companies offer specific business auto policies, but those are usually more appropriate for companies with multiple vehicles or employees driving for the business. For a sole proprietor like me who uses the same vehicle for both business and personal use, the endorsement was the more cost-effective option. Definitely worth calling your insurance agent to discuss your specific situation.

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Zoe Papadakis

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As someone whos purhcased multiple cars for my business over the years, the one thing nobody mentioned is keeping track the moment you start using the car for business. If u buy it and use it 100% for personal for a few months, then start using it for business, you cant claim the full purchase price x business %. The IRS will consider it a conversion of personal asset to business and it gets complicated.

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Jamal Carter

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Is it better then to start using it for business immediately after purchase? Or does that create other issues? My accountant has me totally confused about this whole topic.

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