It’s human nature to hold others to our own personal standards. We all do it. And we do it in virtually every aspect of life—even something as mundane as a trip to the grocery store. And the experience can be maddening.
Our journey begins as we attempt to park the car in the lot only to realize that the car next to you is a good six inches into your spot (that’s right, I’m looking at you Cedar Market customers!). You then realize that was the reason why no one had taken the parking space 10 feet from the store when everything else was taken. I always wonder when someone parks in such a jerky manner like this if they get out and look at their vehicle spread out over two spaces and think, “Wow, that is a mighty fine parking job! Kudos to me!”
Finally, as you make your way into the store and things seem to be going smoothly, the customer pushing the cart in front of you suddenly decides they need to stop in their tracks for some reason. Not off to the side, there’s no time for that. The stoppage must take place right here and right now. Never mind that it’s in the middle of the aisle and there is literally no way around so the traffic behind them is building up like the George Washington Bridge at 8 a.m.
Now it’s finally time to check out. If you’re like me then your checkout experience tends to fall under one of three scenarios. Scenario 1 is what I refer to as the Non-Bagger. This involves the customer immediately in front of me either deciding not to read the sign that states “This Lane is Self-Bagging” or chooses to ignore the policy. What ensues is a bit of a nonverbal standoff between the checker and the customer, which results in the groceries not being bagged and just piling up. The customer stands there doing nothing all checkout and finally decides to start bagging when it’s my turn to checkout. Only it’s now too little too late. They hog the bagging area, leave no room for my cart, and cause another traffic jam.
Scenario 2 is the Surprise Payer. This customer, who also happens to be the person immediately in front of me, seems to always be surprised that they need to pay for the groceries at the end. Maybe they are unfamiliar with the economic system of exchanging goods for money? But for whatever reason, it seems to catch them off guard at every trip to the grocery store. They are never ready with any form of payment when it’s time to complete the purchase. They find that the best time to start digging around for that credit card or cash is when they are done meticulously placing their grocery items one at a time in just the right spot in their reusable bags, which is usually five minutes after the checker finished the scanning. The really special ones in this group pay with a check. Of course, nothing was filled out beforehand.
Finally, Scenario 3 is the Self-Checkout Oaf. Again, members of this group tend to be right in front of me in line. These people will always choose self-checkout if it’s an option despite their complete inability to perform the tasks involved in the process. They can never seem to find the barcode. And when they do find the barcode, they are incapable of following the procedure of placing the scanned item in the bagging area before scanning the next item. They also have an uncontrollable instinct to pick up items from the bagging area after being scanned causing an error message on the screen. What should be a one-minute process ends with a screen showing “Someone will be with you to help shortly.”
I’m not going to lie—I judge these people. And not favorably. It’s because I try and park within designated parking lines, I make sure not to leave my cart in the middle of an aisle, I bag when needed, I’m always ready with a credit card and, not to brag, but I find myself to be at least above average in the art of scanning barcodes. I hold my fellow grocery shoppers to a certain standard.
The IRS also holds us taxpayers to a fairly high standard and we can see that specifically in the area of deducting vehicle expenses. The deduction for vehicle expenses is one of the best deductions. I always look at it as found money. When I think of the cost of doing business, I think about expenses for software, equipment, payroll etc. But in my mind, the cost of using your car isn’t really an extra expense. I just look at it as a way to get from place A to place B. So the fact that you can deduct vehicles expenses is almost like a bonus. Imagine that you’re driving down the road and at each mile marker money appears in your pocket. Well, when you use your car for business, that’s essentially what’s happening.
But if you want to document this deduction properly, then the IRS has high expectations. See, while there are a couple of different methods to deduct vehicle expenses (the standard mileage rate and the actual expense method), they both have a specific requirement, and that’s the mileage log. The mileage log may be one of the most annoying things in tax law, but it’s the only way your vehicle expenses will withstand an IRS audit. No mileage log, no deductions.
The log must show the business mileage, the time and the business purpose of each use of the vehicle. You can keep this log in a separate notebook, but this will probably create more work for you. The easiest method is to keep your mileage on the same page or in the same electronic record that you record your appointments. This will eliminate most of the documentation, such as the time and business purpose since it’s already in your calendar. You’re simply adding in the business miles.
But since keeping a mileage log for the full year is such an annoying task, you may be able to get away with only keeping a mileage log for three months. The IRS says you may use a three-month sample if you can demonstrate by other evidence (such as your appointment book) that your three-month sample is representative of your vehicle use for the entire year. With this sample, you keep your mileage log for three months of the year and then use the three-month log to substantiate the business use of your vehicle for the year.
Another piece of advice is to look into an app such as MileIQ. With this app, your miles are automatically recorded and you add in the necessary details for your mileage log.
By Daniel Magence
Daniel Magence, CPA, Esq. is a principal at Pristine CPA Solutions, LLC (www.pristinecpa.com). Pristine CPA Solutions offers tax and accounting services to individuals and businesses of all sizes, whether its tax returns, bookkeeping, payroll services or personal income budgeting. He can be reached at [email protected] or 201-326-6908 if you have any questions or comments, or are interested in using Pristine CPA’s services. Feel free to contact us for a free consultation.
