[Fredog]

my boss gives each driver a cingular cell phone and he has one so we can call him and are not charged minutes. we each get 400 minutes a month paid by the company, if you want to use it for a personal phone, you pay for the minutes over 400, if it goes over that using it for business ( which never happens) then you dont have to pay.

[mbadriver]

Correct! It is a part of doing business. Drivers are employees - NOT BUSINESS OWNERS.

It may be tax deductible, but that only reduces AGI. It is not a dollar for dollar tax credit.

With management having that sort of attitude, I am sure a lot of drivers have decided they are working for the wrong company :wink:

Personally, I will turn in charges if i am in Canada and get hit with Canada Roaming charges. A call home, and work related calls are not too much to expect from a decent employer.

Them cheapskates at Roehl wouldn't pay anything - use your qualcomm or the 800 # from a pay phone. They also pushed the Roehl Calling Card. It was priced like the 1980's something like a dime a minute - absurd. But they were out to fleece drivers in many subtle ways.

Originally Posted by GMAN

I used to furnish a cell phone to my drivers. I gave one to 3 drivers and every one of them abused it, one to the tune of more than $400. Now, every driver must furnish their own phone. If a driver can't afford $50/month for a cell phone, then he is working for the wrong company. I consider it a part of doing business. It is tax deductible if used in your business.

[Jackrabbit379]

My company pays 15% of my phone bill.

[GMAN]

It can be nice for a company to pay for your cell phone bill, but should not be expected.

[GMAN]

Originally Posted by mbadriver

Correct! It is a part of doing business. Drivers are employees - NOT BUSINESS OWNERS.

It may be tax deductible, but that only reduces AGI. It is not a dollar for dollar tax credit.

With management having that sort of attitude, I am sure a lot of drivers have decided they are working for the wrong company :wink:

Personally, I will turn in charges if i am in Canada and get hit with Canada Roaming charges. A call home, and work related calls are not too much to expect from a decent employer.

There was a time in this country when we were self reliant. We took care of our own needs and didn't expect our employer or the government to take care of our every want and need. If we wanted something we bought it for ourselves. If we didn't have the money to buy it, we worked and saved until we could. It seems that today, many feel that the company or government "owes" them. Perhaps we would all be making more money and pay less for everyday products if we started doing more for ourselves rather than expecting the company or government to take care of our every whim. I am not sure what you are talking about when you say a dollar for dollar credit on taxes. If it is something you use in your work, then you can deduct the cost from your taxes. That sounds to me like a dollar for dollar tax credit unless it is partly used personally. It is not up to the company to pay for your personal calls. Personally, I would not expect an employer to pay for my personal cell phone.

[gmh]

When wages are stagnant, and it is imposible to bargain for better wages in a given industry, looking for perks is one way to improve compensation.

I am not sure what you are talking about when you say a dollar for dollar credit on taxes. If it is something you use in your work, then you can deduct the cost from your taxes. That sounds to me like a dollar for dollar tax credit unless it is partly used personally.

Let's say you make 50k per year and pay 10k in taxes and have a $1000 cell bill (100% business use). A dollar per dollar credit would lower taxes from $10000 to $9000. A deduction from agi would lower your taxable income to $49000 and taxes to $9800. There is a substantial difference in how much money goes into your pocket.

It's also one reason why allowing bigger deductions for medical expenses will not help the poor. If you have someone with zero taxable income (not the same as no income) or in a low bracket, the savings are miniscule, and not what keeps someone from getting medical insurance and/or treatment.

But that last paragraph is way off the original point

[kc0iv]

Originally Posted by gmh

When wages are stagnant, and it is imposible to bargain for better wages in a given industry, looking for perks is one way to improve compensation.

Let's say you make 50k per year and pay 10k in taxes and have a $1000 cell bill (100% business use). A dollar per dollar credit would lower taxes from $10000 to $9000. A deduction from agi would lower your taxable income to $49000 and taxes to $9800. There is a substantial difference in how much money goes into your pocket.

It's also one reason why allowing bigger deductions for medical expenses will not help the poor. If you have someone with zero taxable income (not the same as no income) or in a low bracket, the savings are miniscule, and not what keeps someone from getting medical insurance and/or treatment.

But that last paragraph is way off the original point

A little information about cellphone deductions from the website: http://www.tuttlefirm.com/newsletters/0504advisor.html

Cell phone expenses: Are they deductible?

If you use a cell phone for business calls, you need to know what cell phone expenses are tax-deductible. According to the IRS, cell phones are subject to strict substantiation requirements for deductions to be allowed. The business use of the phone needs to be supported by maintaining a written record of:

* Amount of the expense.
* Time and place of the expense.
* Business purpose of the expense.
* Business relationship to the taxpayer of the other party.

Unfortunately, copies of phone bills that are simply "claimed" as business-related expenses will not be considered deductible items. A recent case denied a taxpayer any phone deductions for lack of supporting evidence. The taxpayer tried to meet the substantiation requirements with cancelled check copies.

Keep detailed records. For outbound cell phone calls, always obtain a detailed list of calls from your provider. Then make notations distinguishing between personal and business-related calls. Or consider maintaining a diary explaining each call, and reconcile it with all the phone bills you receive. Once the business usage is determined, the cell phone expense can be calculated for deduction purposes.

If you are an employer who provides cell phones for your employees, require them to maintain records for business use of their phones. If they fail to do so, it is possible to lose deductions, and the employees may have to report the full value of the phone as taxable income.

When the business-use percentage on a cell phone is 50% or less, depreciation is calculated using the straight-line method over a period of ten years. No first-year expensing is permitted.

kc0iv