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My wife is starting as a dance instructor while working at a regular job. Her studio space requires that she drive a fair distance to and from the house, and I have a couple of questions on how to calculate the mileage for reimbursement.

  1. Her job is in between our house and the studio, on days that she goes to work first then the studio, from which points do you calculate the mileage?
  2. If she has two different studios that she travels to, would the home be considered the starting point for both?
  3. If she works on dance items from a home office, is there any deduction that can be taken from home use, and how do you calculate that?
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Is commuting to work deductable? Just because it's a second job doesn't make it deductable. – Gary E♦ Jan 13 at 19:00
I thought if you were self employed, and used a personal car for the business as well that you could deduct the mileage. – JohnP Jan 13 at 19:22
@JohnP - you are not using the car for the purpose of business though, you are using it to get to your place of work, therefore it is commuting. See my more detailed answer below. – Gavin Coates May 1 at 14:07

2 Answers

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Tax depts usually have very precise rules on claimable expenses and calculation thereof. This should be the type of information your accountant should know (and very country specific). As for working from home, again there are often detailed rules like space expressly set aside, ratio of floor space, fittings/furnishings. But if travel is part of the work contract then it should be a legit business deduction.

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You really need to speak to an accountant regarding this, as it may vary depending on where you are located.

In the UK, you are entitled to claim mileage when travelling on 'work journeys', regardless of whether you are a staff employee or self employed.

According to HMRC:

Which Journeys are 'work journeys'?

Work Journeys:

Journeys that you have to make in the course of doing your job. Examples include:

  • Delivering goods, or

  • making calls to customers

Non-work journeys:

  • Private journeys unrelated to work

  • Journeys to and from your place of work (commuting journeys) even if you call at a clients on the way (unless the journey is significantly different from your usual commuting journey)

Source: HMRC Employee Travel Factsheet

Again, speak to your accountant or consult your local tax authority. I would have thought though that if you regularly work out of two dance studios, then these would both be considered your place of work, and as such travel to/from them would be considered commuting.

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