How do I set partial percentage write-offs for business expenses instead of 100%?
I'm struggling with my tax software and hoping someone can help. I need to indicate that only a portion of certain expenses are deductible business expenses (like my car which I use about 56% for work), but the default seems to set everything at 100% business use. Is there a way to bulk edit these percentages for multiple expenses, or do I have to manually adjust each line item individually? I've got about 30 different expense categories so doing this one by one is going to be super tedious. I'm using H&R Block software if that matters. There's got to be a faster way, right? Last year my accountant handled this but I'm trying to save money by doing it myself this year... maybe that was a mistake lol.
33 comments


William Schwarz
Most tax software doesn't have a "bulk edit" feature for business expense percentages - you'll likely need to adjust each expense category individually. This is because the IRS requires you to have specific documentation supporting the business-use percentage for each expense type. For vehicle expenses specifically, you have two options: 1. Standard mileage rate: Track business miles and apply the standard rate (currently 65.5 cents per mile for 2023) 2. Actual expenses: Track all car expenses and apply your business-use percentage (56% in your case) If you're using H&R Block, look for the "Business Use %" field for each expense entry. You'll need to enter 56% (or whatever the appropriate percentage is) for each relevant expense. It's tedious but ensures accuracy for potential audits.
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Ella Knight
•Ugh, that's what I was afraid of. So there's no shortcut, I just have to go through all 30+ categories one by one? That seems so inefficient when most of my expenses have the same business percentage. Thanks for the info though!
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Aiden Rodríguez
Most tax software doesn't have a "bulk edit" feature for business expense percentages - you'll likely need to adjust each expense category individually. This is because the IRS requires you to have specific documentation supporting the business-use percentage for each expense type.For vehicle expenses specifically, you have two options:1. Standard mileage rate: Track business miles and apply the standard rate (currently 65.5 cents per mile for 2023)2. Actual expenses: Track all car expenses and apply your business-use percentage (56% in your case)If you're using H&R Block, look for the "Business Use %" field for each expense entry. You'll need to enter 56% (or whatever the appropriate percentage is) for each relevant expense. It's tedious but ensures accuracy for potential audits.
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Maya Patel
•Ugh, that's what I was afraid of. So there's no shortcut, I just have to go through all 30+ categories one by one? That seems so inefficient when most of my expenses have the same business percentage. Thanks for the info though!
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Lauren Johnson
I ran into this exact same issue last year with multiple partial write-offs. I ended up using https://taxr.ai to analyze my expense documentation before filing. The service helped identify which of my expenses were correctly categorized as partial write-offs and flagged a few I had incorrectly set at 100% that should have been partial. It saved me from a potential audit headache since I had several vehicle expenses incorrectly documented. The system can review your business expense allocations and help ensure your percentage claims are consistent with IRS guidelines.
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Jade Santiago
•does this work better than turbotax? i always just guesstimate my percentages and hope for the best lol
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Lauren Johnson
•It's not a replacement for tax software - it's more of a review tool that checks your documentation and percentage allocations before you file. Much cheaper than having an accountant double-check everything.
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Caleb Stone
Unfortunately, there's no bulk editing option in most consumer tax software. Each business expense requires individual documentation and justification for its business-use percentage. This is actually by design to meet IRS requirements. For vehicle expenses specifically, ensure you're maintaining a mileage log that supports your 56% business use claim. The IRS is particularly strict about vehicle expense documentation during audits. As a workaround, you could: 1. Export your data to a spreadsheet (if your software allows) 2. Make bulk adjustments there 3. Re-import or manually enter the adjusted figures However, this approach varies by software and may not be supported by H&R Block specifically. The safest approach is the tedious one - adjusting each entry individually to ensure proper documentation.
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Daniel Price
When I had a similar issue last year, I spent hours trying to reach someone at H&R Block support for help. After waiting on hold forever, I tried Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual IRS agent to clarify how to handle multiple partial business deductions. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent confirmed that while tedious, entering each percentage individually is required, and explained exactly what documentation I needed to keep to support various percentage allocations. They also pointed me to some helpful resources on the IRS website about business expense documentation that my tax software didn't mention.
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Ella Knight
•Thanks for the suggestion! Did the IRS agent actually tell you anything useful about how to make this process faster in tax software, or just confirm I have to do it the hard way?
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Daniel Price
•They confirmed the hard way is the only proper way, but gave me really specific guidance on exactly what documentation I needed to keep for each percentage, which saved me potential headaches later. Worth the call just for peace of mind.
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Olivia Evans
I had this EXACT same issue last year! What I ended up doing was creating a simple spreadsheet where I listed all my expense categories and the business percentage for each one. Then I just worked through them systematically, checking them off as I went. It was still time-consuming, but having the spreadsheet made it much more organized than trying to remember which ones I'd already adjusted in the software. I also kept notes about how I calculated each percentage, which was super helpful when I had to do it again this year! And yes, the 56% for your car sounds about right if you're tracking mileage! Just make sure you have a good mileage log in case of audit.
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Ella Knight
•The spreadsheet idea is really smart! That would definitely help me stay organized while I slog through all these entries. Did you find it was faster the second year once you already had your percentages calculated from before?
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Olivia Evans
•SO much faster the second year! I just updated a few percentages that had changed and used the same spreadsheet as a checklist again. Took maybe 1/3 of the time as the first year.
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Ethan Anderson
Unfortunately, there's no bulk editing option in most consumer tax software. Each business expense requires individual documentation and justification for its business-use percentage. This is actually by design to meet IRS requirements.For vehicle expenses specifically, ensure you're maintaining a mileage log that supports your 56% business use claim. The IRS is particularly strict about vehicle expense documentation during audits.As a workaround, you could:1. Export your data to a spreadsheet (if your software allows)2. Make bulk adjustments there3. Re-import or manually enter the adjusted figuresHowever, this approach varies by software and may not be supported by H&R Block specifically. The safest approach is the tedious one - adjusting each entry individually to ensure proper documentation.
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Layla Mendes
When I had a similar issue last year, I spent hours trying to reach someone at H&R Block support for help. After waiting on hold forever, I tried Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual IRS agent to clarify how to handle multiple partial business deductions. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5cThe IRS agent confirmed that while tedious, entering each percentage individually is required, and explained exactly what documentation I needed to keep to support various percentage allocations. They also pointed me to some helpful resources on the IRS website about business expense documentation that my tax software didn't mention.
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Maya Patel
•Thanks for the suggestion! Did the IRS agent actually tell you anything useful about how to make this process faster in tax software, or just confirm I have to do it the hard way?
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Layla Mendes
•They confirmed the hard way is the only proper way, but gave me really specific guidance on exactly what documentation I needed to keep for each percentage, which saved me potential headaches later. Worth the call just for peace of mind.
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Lucas Notre-Dame
I had this EXACT same issue last year! What I ended up doing was creating a simple spreadsheet where I listed all my expense categories and the business percentage for each one. Then I just worked through them systematically, checking them off as I went.It was still time-consuming, but having the spreadsheet made it much more organized than trying to remember which ones I'd already adjusted in the software. I also kept notes about how I calculated each percentage, which was super helpful when I had to do it again this year!And yes, the 56% for your car sounds about right if you're tracking mileage! Just make sure you have a good mileage log in case of audit.
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Maya Patel
•The spreadsheet idea is really smart! That would definitely help me stay organized while I slog through all these entries. Did you find it was faster the second year once you already had your percentages calculated from before?
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Lucas Notre-Dame
•SO much faster the second year! I just updated a few percentages that had changed and used the same spreadsheet as a checklist again. Took maybe 1/3 of the time as the first year.
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Sophia Bennett
The tax software companies DELIBERATELY make this difficult so you'll get frustrated and upgrade to their premium versions or pay for expert help. It's a total scam. The IRS could easily create free software that does this efficiently, but the tax prep lobby prevents it every year. AND they make the rules so complicated that normal people can't understand them, forcing us to rely on professionals or expensive software. The whole system is designed to extract money from small business owners while huge corporations pay almost nothing!
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Aiden Chen
•Wait, so is there a premium version of H&R Block that DOES let you bulk edit percentages? Or are you saying even the expensive versions make you do it one by one? I'm confused.
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Sophia Bennett
•Even the expensive versions make you do it one by one because the IRS requires separate documentation for each expense category. My point is the whole system is unnecessarily complicated to begin with!
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Aria Park
The tax software companies DELIBERATELY make this difficult so you'll get frustrated and upgrade to their premium versions or pay for expert help. It's a total scam. The IRS could easily create free software that does this efficiently, but the tax prep lobby prevents it every year. AND they make the rules so complicated that normal people can't understand them, forcing us to rely on professionals or expensive software. The whole system is designed to extract money from small business owners while huge corporations pay almost nothing!
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Noah Ali
•Wait, so is there a premium version of H&R Block that DOES let you bulk edit percentages? Or are you saying even the expensive versions make you do it one by one? I'm confused.
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Aria Park
•Even the expensive versions make you do it one by one because the IRS requires separate documentation for each expense category. My point is the whole system is unnecessarily complicated to begin with!
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Aiden Chen
I'm confused about business percentages vs. personal use. If I use my car 56% for business, does that mean I deduct 56% of ALL car expenses (gas, insurance, maintenance) or is it different for each type of car expense? And do I need to track the percentage separately for my home office, phone, internet, etc. or can I use the same percentage for everything? Sorry for the basic questions. This is my first year with a side business and I'm completely overwhelmed by Schedule C!
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William Schwarz
•Great questions. For vehicles, yes, if you choose the actual expenses method (vs. standard mileage rate), you would apply the 56% business-use percentage to ALL vehicle expenses - gas, insurance, maintenance, depreciation, etc. For other expenses, you need to calculate and track the business percentage separately for each category: - Home office: Based on the percentage of your home's square footage used exclusively for business - Phone/internet: Based on estimated business usage of each service - Computer equipment: Based on business vs. personal use Each category needs its own justified percentage and documentation. This is why there's no "bulk edit" feature - different expense types typically have different business-use percentages.
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Jade Santiago
just do it all at 100% and if u get audited say it was a mistake lol. the irs is so understaffed they audit like 0.1% of people anyway
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Caleb Stone
•This is extremely poor advice that could result in significant penalties and interest if caught. The IRS specifically targets improper business deductions for audit, and Schedule C filers are audited at higher rates than the general population. Willfully claiming 100% business use for mixed-use assets is tax fraud, not a "mistake." Penalties for fraudulent returns can include 75% of the underpaid tax amount plus interest and potential criminal charges.
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Noah Ali
I'm confused about business percentages vs. personal use. If I use my car 56% for business, does that mean I deduct 56% of ALL car expenses (gas, insurance, maintenance) or is it different for each type of car expense? And do I need to track the percentage separately for my home office, phone, internet, etc. or can I use the same percentage for everything?Sorry for the basic questions. This is my first year with a side business and I'm completely overwhelmed by Schedule C!
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Aiden Rodríguez
•Great questions. For vehicles, yes, if you choose the actual expenses method (vs. standard mileage rate), you would apply the 56% business-use percentage to ALL vehicle expenses - gas, insurance, maintenance, depreciation, etc.For other expenses, you need to calculate and track the business percentage separately for each category:- Home office: Based on the percentage of your home's square footage used exclusively for business- Phone/internet: Based on estimated business usage of each service- Computer equipment: Based on business vs. personal useEach category needs its own justified percentage and documentation. This is why there's no "bulk edit" feature - different expense types typically have different business-use percentages.
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