[sokoloff]

> Lease (buy a car on a lease). By leasing you deduct the interest. So there is literally no reason why you'd not do it.

It is almost guaranteed that I pay less to drive my 2005 Honda CR-V (paid entirely with taxable dollars) than a business owner pays to lease a newer Honda CR-V paid with pre-tax dollars. (So, that's one reason why you might not lease a car for your business.)

[jjeaff]

Plus, you are likely to fall on the wrong side of an audit of you expense your vehicle as a freelancer. Even visiting clients is not going to be considered a deductible use, just as an employee, going to and from work is not deductible.

[sokoloff]

Driving to and from your principal place of business is commuting (non-deductible) mileage.

If your principal place of business is your home office, then driving to/from additional client sites likely is a business expense.

[jjeaff]

Yes, I should have specified that I was speaking in the context of someone who is working at client's offices on a regular basis (in which you would have enough mileage to make a difference when it comes to deducting the expense). If you primarily work at home and you occasionally visit clients for meetings and updates or sales calls, then you should be fine deducting the mileage.

But if you are the type of freelancer that goes and works on site on a regular basis for your clients, then the IRS will likely try to assert that your client offices are actually your "place of work" and driving in to see them is merely a non-deductible commute.

[acct1771]

Why's that, again?