CHAPTER 7Your Car

Americans love their cars. According to Hedges & Company, there were 289.5 million vehicles registered in the United States as of 2021. Cars can be expensive to buy or lease and to operate, especially with today's high fuel prices. When prices spiked at the pump during 2022, some states had “tax holidays” by lowering or waiving their state tax on gasoline for a set period. Federal tax law provides some relief for your car use by way of tax write‐offs.

This chapter explains the tax breaks you can take for your car (the term may also cover light trucks and vans for certain purposes as explained later). Deducting the use of your car for medical‐related travel is discussed in Chapter 2. Deducting the use of your car when working as a volunteer for charity is discussed in Chapter 6.

For more information, see IRS Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses and IRS Publication 535, Business Expenses.

Business Use of Your Personal Car

According to the U.S. ...

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