Can I write off car parts for my vehicle after repairs following total loss or when needed for work commute?
So last summer I got into a pretty bad accident and my insurance declared my car a total loss. I ended up taking the settlement money but decided to keep the car and repair it myself since I know a thing or two about cars. I spent close to $4,800 on various parts to get it back on the road. Now I'm working on my taxes and wondering if any of this is deductible? The car is also my daily driver for my work commute (about 35 miles each way). I've kept all the receipts for everything - new bumper, radiator, headlight assembly, etc. Also curious - does it make any difference if these were repairs after the accident vs. regular maintenance parts that I need just to keep the car running for my daily commute? I'm thinking there's a difference between fixing a car after insurance already paid me vs. just keeping my work transportation functional. Any help with this would be awesome because we're talking serious money here.
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Mia Rodriguez
These are good questions about auto expenses. Let me break this down: For repairs after a total loss settlement: Generally no, you can't deduct these. When you received the insurance settlement, that was compensation for the loss. Using that money to repair the vehicle instead is a personal choice, and those repairs aren't tax-deductible for personal vehicles. For commuting to your regular workplace: Unfortunately, regular commuting costs (including related repairs) are considered personal expenses by the IRS, not business expenses. This is true even if the commute is long or the car is essential for getting to work. There are some exceptions where you might deduct vehicle expenses: - If you're self-employed and use the car for business purposes (not commuting) - If you have a qualifying home office and travel to client sites - If you work at multiple job sites in a day - If you're an employee with a temporary work location Keep those receipts though - if you use the vehicle partly for actual business purposes (not just commuting), you might be able to deduct a percentage of expenses using either the standard mileage rate or actual expenses method.
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Jacob Lewis
•What if my employer doesn't reimburse me for mileage when I have to drive between different work locations during the day? I sometimes have to go from my main office to three different client sites all in one day.
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Mia Rodriguez
•That's actually a situation where you likely can deduct those expenses. Travel between work locations during the same day is generally deductible as a business expense. If you're an employee, you'd need to itemize these as unreimbursed employee business expenses, but be aware that for tax years 2018-2025, miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% AGI floor (which includes unreimbursed employee expenses) have been suspended under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. If you're self-employed, you can deduct these business travel expenses directly on your Schedule C. Just make sure to keep detailed mileage logs showing dates, locations, purpose, and miles driven.
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Amelia Martinez
After dealing with similar car expense headaches last year, I discovered taxr.ai at https://taxr.ai and it was a game-changer for sorting out what vehicle expenses I could actually deduct. I uploaded my receipts and answered a few questions about how I use my vehicle, and it clearly showed which expenses were deductible based on my specific situation. Saved me from claiming deductions that would've raised red flags. What impressed me was how it analyzed my driving patterns to determine business vs personal use percentages without me having to calculate everything manually.
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Ethan Clark
•Does it work for regular employees too or just for self-employed people? My company makes me drive to different locations but doesn't reimburse me fully.
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Mila Walker
•I'm skeptical about these tax tools - how does it handle the fact that commuting expenses aren't deductible but business travel is? Does it actually understand the difference or just let you claim whatever?
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Amelia Martinez
•It absolutely works for employees with unreimbursed expenses, though the tax law changes from 2018-2025 have limited how employees can deduct these expenses. The system specifically asks about your employment status and adjusts its analysis based on whether you're employed or self-employed. The tool is actually quite sophisticated about distinguishing between commuting and legitimate business travel. It asks detailed questions about your starting location, work locations, and purpose of travel, then applies IRS rules to determine what qualifies. It won't let you simply claim commuting as business travel - it follows tax law carefully and will flag non-qualifying expenses.
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Mila Walker
I was totally skeptical about taxr.ai but gave it a shot with my complicated vehicle situation (multiple businesses, some commuting, some client visits). I'm shocked at how accurate it was - it caught several deductions I was missing AND prevented me from claiming some commuting expenses that would have been questionable. The documentation it produced for my records is incredibly detailed. I went from being confused about vehicle deductions to having a clear breakdown of what I can legitimately claim. Wish I'd found this last year before I missed out on some legitimate deductions!
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Logan Scott
I spent WEEKS trying to get anyone at the IRS to answer if my vehicle repair costs were deductible after my accident. Calling was impossible - constant busy signals or 2+ hour hold times. Then I found https://claimyr.com and watched their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They actually got the IRS to call ME back within a couple hours! The agent walked me through exactly what vehicle expenses I could and couldn't deduct based on my specific situation. Turns out some of my repairs WERE partially deductible because I also use my vehicle for a side gig. Never would have known this without getting that personalized IRS guidance.
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Chloe Green
•Wait, how does this actually work? They somehow make the IRS call you? That sounds impossible. The IRS won't even answer their own phones.
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Lucas Adams
•Yeah right. There's no way this actually works. I've tried everything to get through to the IRS and nothing helps. Sounds like a scam to me. The IRS doesn't just call people back because some service asked them to.
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Logan Scott
•It uses the IRS's own callback system, but it navigates the complex phone tree and secures your spot in line without you having to wait on hold. It's like having someone wait on hold for you, but using technology to do it. They don't make the IRS do anything the IRS doesn't already do - they just handle the frustrating part of getting through the system. It's definitely not a scam - the IRS has an official callback feature, but it's hard to access because their lines are constantly busy. Claimyr just helps you get in the queue effectively. I was skeptical too until I got the actual IRS call back and the agent knew exactly what information I was calling about.
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Lucas Adams
I take back everything I said. After seeing that last post, I tried Claimyr out of pure frustration after spending 3 days trying to reach someone about my vehicle deduction questions. Within 90 minutes, I got a call from an actual IRS agent who spent nearly 20 minutes explaining exactly how vehicle expenses work in my situation. They confirmed that my specific repairs weren't deductible as commuting expenses but gave me great advice on how to properly document the portion of my driving that IS business-related (about 40% in my case). Worth every penny just for the time saved and peace of mind knowing I'm doing things correctly.
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Harper Hill
I'm a rideshare driver and I write off all my car repairs, maintenance, gas, etc. You just need to track your business miles vs personal miles and deduct that percentage of your expenses. Or use the standard mileage rate which is easier but sometimes gives you a smaller deduction.
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Caden Nguyen
•But the original poster isn't a rideshare driver - they're just commuting to work. Completely different tax situation. The IRS specifically says regular commuting isn't deductible.
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Harper Hill
•You're right - I missed that they're just commuting. In that case, these expenses wouldn't be deductible. I was thinking about business use which is entirely different. Commuting is always considered personal use by the IRS, no matter how far your workplace is or how necessary your vehicle is to get there. The only exception would be if they have a qualifying home office as their primary place of business and are traveling to client sites.
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Avery Flores
Has anyone considered whether insurance proceeds should be reported as income? If you got a settlement for the total loss but then repaired it anyway, that settlement might be taxable if it exceeded your basis in the vehicle.
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Zoe Gonzalez
•Insurance settlements for personal vehicles usually aren't taxable unless you end up with a gain. Like if your car was worth $10k but somehow insurance paid you $12k, that $2k difference might be taxable. But it's rare for that to happen since cars usually lose value over time.
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