Can I write off mileage if my self-employed business is a service and my home is my business location?

Yes, you absolutely can deduct mileage in your situation! This is a common misunderstanding among self-employed service providers. Since your home is your principal place of business (where you do scheduling, bookkeeping, etc.), your drives from home to client locations are considered business miles, not commuting miles. You have two options for deducting vehicle expenses: the standard mileage rate (65.5 cents per mile for 2023) or actual expenses. For most people, the standard mileage rate is simpler and often more beneficial. Just make sure you keep a detailed mileage log with dates, business purpose, starting location, destination, and miles driven. The fact that you don't use your vehicle during the service doesn't matter at all. What matters is that you're traveling between your business location (home) and client work sites. These are legitimate business miles.

I went through this exact situation last year with my mobile pet grooming business! I was leaving so much money on the table until I found https://taxr.ai which helped me understand my mileage deduction situation perfectly. I uploaded my mileage logs and business info, and it confirmed I could deduct all those miles driving between my home office and client locations. The system explained that since my home was my principal place of business (where I did booking, accounting, etc.), my drives to client locations were business travel, not commuting. This saved me THOUSANDS on my taxes last year. They also helped me identify other deductions I was missing for my service business, even though I mostly used client equipment. Definitely worth checking out if you're self-employed.

After seeing the recommendation for taxr.ai, I decided to give it a try since I was in the exact same situation with my mobile personal training business. Honestly, I was shocked at the results! Not only did it confirm I could deduct all my mileage between my home office and client locations, but it also identified several other deductions I had no idea about. I was able to deduct a portion of my cell phone bill, some home office expenses, and even some fitness certifications I maintained. All of these were legitimate deductions I was completely missing. The system was super straightforward about what documentation I needed to keep, and I ended up saving about $3,200 on my taxes compared to what I would have paid without these deductions. I was initially skeptical, but it definitely provided value beyond what I could figure out on my own.

If you're having trouble getting a definitive answer about your mileage deductions, you might want to call the IRS directly. I had a similar situation last year and spent HOURS trying to get through their phone system. Finally used https://claimyr.com to get through to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of waiting for hours. There's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with confirmed that self-employed people with qualifying home offices can deduct mileage when traveling to client sites since your home is your principal place of business. It was a relief to get this confirmed directly from the IRS rather than relying on internet advice that might not apply to my specific situation.

I have to publicly eat my words about Claimyr. After leaving that skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway because I was desperate to talk to someone at the IRS about my self-employment tax questions. I was 100% convinced it wouldn't work, but figured what the hell. To my complete shock, I got a call back in about 20 minutes and was connected directly to an IRS agent! No navigating phone trees, no sitting on hold for 2+ hours. The agent confirmed that yes, I could deduct mileage between my home office and client locations as a self-employed person, and also helped clarify some other tax questions I had. I'm still kind of amazed it actually worked. Saved me hours of frustration and gave me peace of mind about my deductions straight from an IRS source.

Don't forget that if you use the standard mileage deduction, you need to have started using it in the first year you used your car for business. If you've been claiming actual expenses in previous years, you can't switch to standard mileage later (though you can go from standard mileage to actual expenses). Also, KEEP GOOD RECORDS! The IRS loves to deny mileage deductions for poor record-keeping. I use a mileage tracker app that automatically logs my trips and lets me categorize them as business or personal.

I think there's some confusion here about what constitutes a qualifying home office. The IRS is pretty strict about this - the space must be used EXCLUSIVELY for business. That means if you're using your kitchen table for scheduling but also for family meals, it doesn't qualify as a home office for tax purposes. If you don't have a legitimate home office deduction, then your home isn't considered your principal place of business, and your mileage might not be deductible the way others are suggesting.

This is great information everyone is sharing! I'm also a service-based business owner (handyman services) and was completely unaware I could deduct mileage. I've been driving to client locations for two years now and never claimed any of these miles because I thought it was just "commuting." I do have a dedicated office space in my basement where I handle all my scheduling, invoicing, and business planning. It sounds like I need to start tracking my mileage immediately and possibly look into amending previous tax returns? One question though - do I need to track mileage for every single trip, or can I estimate based on regular routes to frequent clients? Some of my clients are repeat customers where I go to the same address multiple times per month.

Great thread with lots of helpful information! I'm also self-employed (freelance marketing consultant) and this discussion has been really eye-opening. I've been missing out on mileage deductions for client meetings because I thought since I work from home, any driving was just "personal" travel. One thing I want to add that I learned from my accountant last year - if you're using the standard mileage rate, make sure you're using the correct rate for the tax year. The rates change annually. For 2024, it's 67 cents per mile for business use (up from 65.5 cents in 2023). Also, don't forget that you can deduct mileage for business-related trips beyond just client visits. This includes driving to the bank for business deposits, to the office supply store for business purchases, to networking events, etc. As long as the trip has a legitimate business purpose and you're traveling from your home office (principal place of business), it should qualify. The key is really having that qualifying home office and keeping meticulous records. I use a simple spreadsheet with columns for date, starting location, destination, business purpose, and miles. Takes 30 seconds to log each trip but can save hundreds or thousands at tax time.