Commuting miles are not tax-deductible and should not be confused with business miles, which are miles driven by an employee doing official fieldwork during business hours.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers business miles tax-deductible but not commuting miles. However, employers may want to consider providing transportation allowance to employees who have to commute far to work. A transportation allowance is a great benefit to entice individuals and make the company more competitive.
While the IRS doesn’t offer deductions for it, there are always exceptions to the rules. Consider the following:
- A person with two jobs may travel from one workplace to the next without a break. The IRS may consider the commuting miles tax-deductible because the trip is not personal.
- An employee goes to a temporary business place or office directly from home. The temporary office must be different from the regular business place that most employees go to every day for work.
The IRS doesn’t cover commuting miles because they are personal expenses. People who don’t work from home must make these trips to work. However, business miles are extra trips that go beyond a person’s expense. Since these miles are necessary for the conduct of work, they are tax-deductible as long as the individual can justify them. But they must cover these business miles during office hours or official business trips sanctioned by the office.
