Is my car commute tax deductible if I record a money-making podcast during it?

You've got an interesting situation with some tax nuances to consider. The simple answer is: you can't deduct your regular commute to your W2 job, but you might be able to deduct a portion of your car expenses related to your 1099 podcast work. Here's how to think about it: The IRS considers commuting to your regular workplace as a non-deductible personal expense, regardless of distance. However, for your podcast business, you can potentially deduct the business portion of your car expenses. You'll need to carefully track and separate the business use from personal/commuting use. Since you're using the same drive time for both commuting and podcast recording, you'll need to document how the car is specifically necessary for your podcast (beyond just getting to work). Keep detailed records of when you're recording, mileage, and equipment used exclusively for the podcast.

I was in a similar situation last year with my audiobook narration side gig and my tax preparer introduced me to taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which really helped me figure out my deductions. I had all these receipts for my car setup and wasn't sure what I could claim. The tool analyzed my situation and helped identify which portion of my expenses were actually business-related versus personal. It saved me from making some risky deduction claims that might have triggered an audit!

Wanted to follow up about taxr.ai since I ended up trying it for my dog grooming business vehicle situation. It was surprisingly helpful! I uploaded my mileage logs and business receipts, and they helped me properly calculate my deduction using the actual expenses method, which worked better for my situation than the standard mileage rate. They showed me how to properly document when I'm driving between client locations (deductible) versus my regular commute (not deductible). Ended up saving about $1,400 on my taxes compared to what I would have calculated on my own!

If you're still confused about your tax situation with the podcast/commuting thing, you might want to just call the IRS directly. I had a similar weird situation with my side business and needed clarification. Used https://claimyr.com to actually get through to a human at the IRS instead of waiting on hold forever. There's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they wait on hold for you and call when an agent picks up. I was shocked when I actually got through and got my question answered in like 20 minutes after trying for weeks on my own.

Just wanted to follow up about my experience with Claimyr after being skeptical in my earlier comment. I finally broke down and tried it because I needed to resolve a notice from the IRS about my independent contractor income. It actually worked! After trying to call the IRS myself 4 times and getting disconnected after 45+ minutes each time, the service got me through to an agent in about an hour. They just called me when they reached someone, and I sorted out my tax issue in one conversation. I'm still shocked it worked so well. Definitely keeping this for next time I need to deal with the IRS!

I think everyone is overthinking this. If you're recording a podcast during your commute, you're multitasking - not turning your commute into a business trip. The IRS has really clear rules that commuting is NEVER deductible for W2 employees. For your 1099 work, you'd need to show the car is specifically required for the business beyond just transport. Maybe partial deductions for equipment, but the drive itself? Probably not.

Has anyone considered that the OP might be able to use the home office deduction? If you have a legitimate home office for your podcast business (editing, admin work, etc.), then drives from your home office to other business locations aren't considered commuting - they're business travel. Might be a workaround worth exploring.

I've been dealing with similar mixed-use vehicle situations for my freelance consulting work. One thing that helped me was keeping a detailed log that separates my different uses of the car. For your situation, I'd suggest tracking three categories: 1) Regular W2 commute (not deductible), 2) Podcast-related equipment transport or meetings (potentially deductible), and 3) Any additional trips solely for podcast business (definitely deductible). The key is proving that specific trips or portions of your vehicle use are exclusively for the podcast business, not just multitasking during your regular commute. If you ever drive somewhere specifically to record an episode, meet with sponsors, or pick up podcast equipment, those miles would be legitimate business expenses. The IRS really focuses on the primary purpose of each trip, so documentation is crucial. Also consider that as your podcast grows, you might start doing more podcast-specific travel (conferences, interviews, equipment purchases) which would clearly be deductible business use.