Company vehicle driven home?

[MAK]

For those of you that let your employees drive a company vehicle home What is too far for a company vehicle to be driven home? 20 miles? Do you have a set # of miles that would be considered too far to drive home?

I currently live about 22 miles from my office but live in the city so I do not have to go through the crazy commuter traffic. A great deal of work we do is in and around the city. We often start the clock at the job site or an hour after the start of the commute and rarely ever leave from the office.

 

[wireguru]

a friend of mine gets to take his company vehicle home, he lives 40 miles away, AND they pay for the gas! lucky son of a....

 

[iwire]

I bring the company truck home and I am 20 miles south of the shop. However I go to the shop as litte as posable and the jobs are just as likely to be 2 to 100 miles North, South or West of my house.

 

[Jesse7623]

What if I own the Company truck?Is my drive home a business expense?

 

[TOOL_5150]

Im 55 miles from my shop and I take the company van home. My helper, who is also a friend, lives about 1.5 miles from me. He drives to my house in the morning, and we leave from my house. We are able to use the commute lanes, so we save hours on our drive time. Our jobs are anywhere from 1 - 100 miles away as well, and in any direction.

~Matt

 

[Minuteman]

The vehicle costs are a tax write off, so most employers don't care to much. Now, if the guy is doing side work in the company truck...

 

[hillbilly1]

I am 70 miles from the office, I have to cross two sets of mountains, so it takes an hour and a half to get there when I go. I usually average 300 miles a day in travel. Atlanta is so spread out, it takes an hour to go anywhere once I get there.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

While not commonly done, the employer is required to treat the "commuting" use of a company owned truck as income to the employee. The drive to the first company required stop (job) of the day and the drive back home at the end of the day from the last required stop is commuting and the IRS says you must treat the value of that use of the company vehicle as income to the employee. You have to put it on the W2 or on a 1099. It you don't, the IRS can deny the business deduction for that vehicle.

 

[Rewire]

What if I own the Company truck?Is my drive home a business expense?

Yes,all business use of a vehicle is deductable.All our vehicles are Titled in the name of the business and I have a seperate vehicle for personal use. The men drive their trucks home it is safer than leaving them parked at the shop.

 

[brian john]

Some of my guys live 60-70 miles and often drive 100-150 miles for work.

When I first started doing service work I lived near the shop. The owner told me if I moved he'd pull my truck. One guy got his truck and immedatly moved 20 miles away. Now (in DC area) if you live 20 miles from the shop you are close.

Most guys are driving a minimum of 50 miles one way.

 

[cowboyjwc]

While the truck may be a write off to the employer, it could be a taxable benefit to the employee. You should check with your accountants.

 

[MAK]

Thanks for your responses.
I am about to move another 20 miles away from the shop (total of 44 miles away). I used to live about half mile from the shop for the last five years but that was wearing thin because I was always relied upon to go to the shop and pick up this or do that when everyone else did not want to. I was not sure if 40 + miles is way outside the norm for a company vehicle to be driven home.

 

[ctmike]

What if I own the Company truck?Is my drive home a business expense?

of course it is you are on call 24/7