Contractor works for company in city A. He lives in city B. ( 50 miles from A) He is called by dispatch everyday to determine where he is to work. The job locations are all over 200 mile area lasting few days to few months. He never goes to more than one site a day. He sometimes stops in office on way to site. He always carries company tools to sites. How do we determine what is deductible business miles versus commuting?
You would need to see how far these jobs are from where he works and lives and if it is outside that metropolitan area it would be business mileage.
This is from the instructions for form 2106:
Generally, commuting is travel between your home and a work location. However, travel that meets any of the following conditions is not commuting.
You have at least one regular work location away from your home and the travel is to a temporary work location in the same trade or business, regardless of the distance. Generally, a temporary work location is one where your employment is expected to last 1 year or less. See Pub. 463 for more details.
The travel is to a temporary work location outside the metropolitan area where you live and normally work.
Your home is your principal place of business under section 280A(c)(1)(A) (for purposes of deducting expenses for business use of your home) and the travel is to another work location in the same trade or business, regardless of whether that location is regular or temporary and regardless of distance.
TAXOH gave you an excellent response. I tried to give her points but it would not allow me. Her answer was excellent
