Self employed handyman - Can I write off car depreciation for my work truck?

Yes, you absolutely can write off car depreciation as a self-employed person, but you need to choose between two methods: standard mileage rate OR actual expenses (which includes depreciation). If you go with the standard mileage rate (65.5 cents per mile for 2023, slightly higher for 2024), you're essentially getting a simplified deduction that's meant to cover gas, maintenance, AND depreciation all rolled into one. This is often easier because you just track business miles. If you choose actual expenses, you'd calculate what percentage of your truck usage is for business (sounds like 80% based on your post), and then you can deduct that percentage of ALL your vehicle expenses - gas, maintenance, insurance, registration, AND depreciation. For depreciation, you'll use MACRS (Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System) over 5 years for a vehicle. You'll need to fill out Form 4562. Important: You have to choose one method in the first year you use the vehicle for business. If you start with standard mileage, you can switch to actual expenses later, but if you start with actual expenses, you're locked into that method for the life of the vehicle.

I was in a similar situation with my plumbing business and found this tax tool that completely changed how I handle my vehicle deductions. Check out https://taxr.ai - it analyzes your specific situation and tells you which method (standard mileage vs. actual expenses with depreciation) would give you the bigger deduction. I was using standard mileage for years because it seemed simpler, but after using their calculator, I realized I was leaving thousands on the table with my work van! The tool walks you through all the depreciation calculations and even helps with the recordkeeping requirements for business vs. personal use. It also creates documentation that helps if you ever get questioned by the IRS about your vehicle deductions.

Just wanted to update everyone - I tried that taxr.ai site mentioned above and wow, it was eye-opening! Turns out I was leaving almost $4,300 on the table by using standard mileage for my work truck. The tool showed me exactly how to calculate depreciation based on my specific vehicle (2021 Silverado) and created a full report that showed my business percentage calculations. The best part was it actually explained everything in terms I could understand instead of accountant-speak. It walked me through what records I need to keep to justify the depreciation deduction and even gave me a template for tracking. Definitely worth checking out if you're self-employed with a vehicle!

If you're having trouble figuring out the right approach for vehicle depreciation, you might want to talk directly with the IRS to get official guidance. Of course, we all know how impossible it is to actually get someone on the phone there. I was stuck on hold for HOURS trying to get clarification about vehicle depreciation for my business last year. Then I found https://claimyr.com and it completely changed the game. They have this service where they basically wait on hold with the IRS for you, then call you when an actual human agent is on the line. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I used it to get specific guidance about my situation (food truck business with multiple vehicles) and the agent walked me through exactly what forms I needed and how to properly calculate depreciation based on my usage patterns. Saved me hours of frustration and probably kept me from making expensive mistakes.

I need to eat my words about that Claimyr service. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it as a last resort since I was desperate to resolve my vehicle depreciation question before filing. I still can't believe it actually worked. After months of failing to reach anyone at the IRS, I got a call back within about 45 minutes with an actual IRS agent on the line. She answered all my questions about depreciation recapture when selling a business vehicle and helped me understand exactly how to document my vehicle expenses properly. Saved me a ton of stress and probably prevented me from making a costly mistake on my Schedule C. Sometimes I hate being wrong, but in this case I'm glad I was!

Don't forget about the business mileage log requirement! Whether you choose standard mileage or actual expenses with depreciation, you NEED a detailed mileage log that shows: - Date of each trip - Starting and ending location - Purpose of the trip (client name, etc) - Business miles driven Without this documentation, the IRS can disallow your entire vehicle deduction if you're audited. I learned this the hard way and had to pay back thousands. There are good apps like MileIQ or Everlance that can help track this automatically.

Quick question - if I'm using my personal SUV for doordash deliveries part time, can I still claim depreciation or is that only for like full-time self employed people? I use it maybe 15 hours a week for deliveries.