Deducting Mileage for a Road Trip to a Conference

Deducting Mileage for a Road Trip to a Conference

Member since 2019 · 2 posts · 0 votes

Hi All,

Long time viewer first time poster. I wonder if anyone has ran into this situation. Let me began. I plan to attend a conference (business related) that is 2800 miles round trip. Plane ticket is ~$350. I know that for 2019 you get to deduct .58 cents for each mile driven. The math works out to $1274 in tax savings! Also, I plan to stay at a few motels along the way which adds to more deductions. Cash costs between the flight and drive washes out after expensing for motel stays and food. Besides time, effort and a bit of depreciation on the car, I find this to be a huge cost saver. What am I missing here?

Thanks,

DC

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  • Ashish AcharyaBusiness Member
    CPA, CFP®, PFS · FL · Member since 2017 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    7y

     Even before deciding if the mileage is deductible,  the tax saving is not the deduction. It’s deduction times your marginal tax rate. 

    Not much of the tax and time saver. 

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  • Accountant · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    @Account Closed

    If you're saying costs for both scenarios are equal, I'd much rather spend 10 hours in airports and planes than 40 hours on the road, an additional 2,800 miles on my odometer, and the increased risk of a traffic accident.

  • Member since 2019 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    7y

    Noted. No free lunch. Thanks Guys!

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