Quote:
Originally Posted by jonp
I've never itemized when taking the deduction. I get my logbooks out and add up the days spent away from the house and do it like that. A couple of different CPA's never had a problem with that. Also, you can take the standard amount or higher amounts depending on where you spent the night. Example: if you log an overnight in NYC the per diem amount jumps over $100. I took to stopping near cities for the night to get the higher deduction. I just wrote them down for the year off of my logs, figured the total amount and used that saving my logbooks in case of an audit to prove I spent the night there.
In response to dle: I am not a tax lawyer or CPA. This is just my experience and where taxes are concerned I would never advise someone to do what I do. Get a CPA knowledgeable about the trucking industry or per diem rates and follow their advice.
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Wow, another tax "outlaw" like myself at large....quick, call the IRS storm troopers!
Seriously though, this is what I am talking about. Dobry4u is obviously well versed in
this area, but working for a CPA firm isn't necessarily going to expose you to ALL
approaches to filing. Most CPA firms are firmly, strictly adhering to narrow IRS dictates
and aren't liable to be in ANY WAY aggressive for their clients. At least not in relatively
mundane, everyday-working-stiff affairs like this. They're like H.R. Block: just the plain-
vanilla, super safe toe-the-IRS-line deductions, Ma'am.
As I've asserted before, there is a definite reason why form 2106 is available for deducting
employee expenses separate from (and in addition to) the "itemizing" process. It is also
TYPICALLY MISLEADING of the IRS to (seemingly) limit the eligible parties to "reservists,
performing artists, etc."....as is their limiting statement in the "Notes" section that I believe
Dobry4u refers to. Those who blithely accept their self-serving, narrow "rulings"
-- which aren't actual court rulings -- simply genuflect at the altar of our governmental
"church." But I choose not to, as does the quoted person above....and there are CPA's
THAT AGREE WITH THIS APPROACH. Imagine that!
....Because this particular approach has been shown to be legal and allowable, of course.
I suspect these CPA's (that jonp refers to) aren't exactly anarchist skinhead tax protesters,
either. They're just doing a good job for their clients.
Don't really understand what dle's problem is; I've stated repeatedly now that I'm not
a tax expert and am simply trying to help, and he or she continues to parade his or her
mocking skepticism. That's fine with me; you may grovel at the feet of the IRS and it
won't change my life one iota.
But, really: I "survived an encounter with the IRS"?
Survived? Wow. Not scared of them much, are you? :lol2:
By the way, jonp, thanks for the post basically supporting my approach. This is the kind of
feedback that makes this forum worthwhile -- not because you agree, but because it helps
open up discussions and ideas, as well as some people's eyes. Unfortunately some folks
mis-read such input as balderdash, just because it removes them from a certain way of
thinking, or challenges a previous belief. Oh, well, that's why we're in this thread I guess...
And I do also appreciate Dobry4u's energetic debate on this; although I probably won't ever
use her services. No doubt she'd throw me out of her office anyway.
Can the Rev explain the nuances of how the tax-free per diem pay -- IF paid by a trucking
employer to an OTR driver -- affects a tax filer like myself, who normally lacks enough
deductions to itemize? I'd appreciate any insights you have. Thanks in advance.