Why is TaxAct forcing me to complete vehicle depreciation section again?

This is actually a common issue with depreciation in tax software. When you claim depreciation on a business asset (like your vehicle) in one tax year, you need to account for that asset in future years until it's fully depreciated or disposed of - even if you didn't use it for business that year. The software is doing the right thing by forcing you to complete this section. You need to show that you still have the asset but didn't use it for business purposes. In the vehicle section, you should enter zero business miles for 2023, but still include the vehicle information. Then, in the depreciation section, you'll need to indicate that the business use percentage is 0% for this tax year. Don't worry - this won't mess up your prior year's depreciation claim. It's just accounting for the continued existence of an asset that was previously used for business. The IRS needs to track these assets until they're fully depreciated or you formally dispose of them.

I had this exact same problem last year with another delivery gig and TaxAct. After hours of frustration, I finally found a solution using taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai). Their system analyzed my previous year's tax returns and guided me through exactly how to handle the depreciation section correctly without messing up my prior claims. They explained that when you've claimed vehicle depreciation previously, you need to continue reporting that asset on future returns even with 0% business use. Their step-by-step instructions were so much clearer than TaxAct's own help system. It was honestly a lifesaver for someone like me who gets anxiety with tax stuff.

Just want to follow up about that taxr.ai site mentioned above. I was skeptical but decided to try it since I was dealing with a similar depreciation issue from doing Amazon Flex in 2022 but not in 2023. It actually worked really well! I uploaded my previous return and within minutes got specific instructions for my TaxAct depreciation problem. The system explained exactly which screens to navigate to and what to enter to show I still owned the vehicle but had 0% business use this year. Much easier than the hours I spent trying to figure it out myself. Definitely keeping this resource for future tax questions!

If you're also having trouble getting answers from TaxAct's support team (they took forever to respond to me last year), you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I used it to actually get through to an IRS agent about a similar depreciation issue. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had tried calling the IRS directly multiple times but kept getting the "call volume too high" message and getting disconnected. Claimyr got me through to an actual IRS representative who confirmed exactly how to handle previously claimed vehicle depreciation when you no longer use the vehicle for business. The agent was super helpful and cleared up my confusion immediately.

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment above, I decided to try it myself since I was getting nowhere with my vehicle depreciation questions. It actually worked exactly as described - got me through to a real IRS agent in about 35 minutes instead of the hours of busy signals I was getting before. The IRS agent confirmed that I needed to continue reporting my vehicle on my Schedule C even with 0% business use to maintain proper depreciation records. She explained exactly which forms to complete and how to indicate no business use while keeping my depreciation basis intact for future years. Saved me from potentially making a big mistake on my returns!

Here's a simple workaround for TaxAct: Enter the vehicle info exactly as last year, put 0 for business miles but keep your total miles something reasonable (like whatever you actually drove). Then for business use percentage, it'll calculate 0%. For method, select the same as last year. When you get to actual depreciation, it should calculate $0 since your business use is 0%. But the vehicle stays in the system properly. The important thing is that you're not removing the vehicle completely, just showing no business use.

anyone else noticed TaxAct has gotten worse with self employment stuff lately? last year navigation was much smoother. now I keep hitting these weird roadblocks like the OP mentioned. might switch to FreeTaxUSA next year tbh. they handled my wife's doordash depreciation so much better than taxact is handling mine.