Are parking ticket fees deductible?

Let’s say you’re driving for Lyft or Uber and need a coffee before you pick up your next customer. The line is longer than expected, you can’t get to the parking meter for a few more blocks and you get a parking ticket. Since you’re commuting by car, the ticket should be deductible on your tax return… right?

For drivers, unfortunately, there are parking tickets No deductible. According to the IRS, you cannot claim a tax deduction for government (US or foreign, federal or local) fines or penalties. This is because the IRS does not want to encourage citizens to break the law, and also, tickets are not necessary expenses to generate income (only necessary expenses are tax deductible).

However, there are many things you can write off if you drive for a living (or a side gig!), including the following:

• standard mileage. From the time you leave the driveway and start driving to look for your first passenger until you drop off the last passenger and return home, your total business miles are deductible up to 65.5 cents per mile in 2023. That’s why it’s important to count. per mile, so you can save (or earn) more money. Now, obviously, if you’ve run into a personal thing or two, those miles don’t count, but you get the picture.
• Actual costs of the car. If you don’t take the standard mileage deduction, you may be able to deduct the actual expenses of using your vehicle for your business. You can deduct your actual expenses such as gas, repairs, tires and oil as part of your business use. This means that you can deduct the expenses you incur in picking up clients, driving them to their destinations, or even in meetings required by your company.. If you lease your vehicle, you can deduct a portion of the lease payment based on your business use of the vehicle.

While juggling your business and personal life can be busy at times, knowing these simple tips can help you easily find business deductions that will lower your taxes and help you save money for your business. If you still have questions, you can contact us via live one-way video a TurboTax Live Self Employed A tax expert with an average of 12 years of experience to answer your tax questions. TurboTax Live Self Employed Tax experts are available in English and Spanish year-round and can review, sign and file your tax return.