Tax & Compliance
Alternative to the IRS standard rate: deduct real vehicle costs in proportion to business use.
The actual expense method sums all vehicle costs for the year (fuel, maintenance, insurance, depreciation, loan interest) and applies the business-use percentage. It requires substantiation of every cost and a clean split between business and personal miles. Opposite of the IRS standard rate. Often yields a larger deduction in heavy-maintenance years but requires more work.