Reality check:

Have laws changed, or do I have a tax accountant who does not want to aggressively take every deduction I deserve?

A few years back, I took some training where I was told you can deduct virtually all the miles you drive - as long as you are talking up / promoting your business / handing out business cards / talking to people about what you do. Including searching for and going to see properties for sale / potentially for sale.

Also deduct mileage if you have signage on your vehicle.

Also deduct mileage for trips to the bank for business, whether to deposit/move money, apply for a loan, etc. Or to court, city / permit office, etc.

The guy who did my taxes this year said "NO" to all of the above. It didn't sit well with me and still bugs me.

He says you only get mileage for going to a specific property you already own to do a showing, maintenance, etc. And that all mileage (as well as other expenses) must be designated as belonging to a specific property. Even dividing up the office supplies. Am I crazy, or is this crazy? It seems he spent a lot of effort (and my $) listing expenses & income for each property, only to add it all together put on the tax form. Many duplicate forms that just said the exact same thing.

So, what about you? What do your tax people say? Am I being fleeced?

I don't know how mine does it...he just asks me to record mileage "related to my business" and I give him a number, and he uses it.

I do keep a more detailed log in case it ever comes to an audit, but he does not ask for the log.

I don’t know about the signage, and talking about the business, but, I certainly deduct trips to the bank, city offices that are for rental business. I prorate the total business miles to different units based on percent of revenue. The NOLO book on Landlord taxes does a good job of explaining this.

The vindictive punitive auditors at the IRS want to make our lives miserable as landlord who provide affordable housing for the masses. When I proved two auditors wrong, they came at me with everything they got.

It wasn't enough that I had several personal vehicles for my private use, some here with me at home and others at rentals. They wanted me to "prove" and "document" the following:

1) Date and time of vehicle use

2) Starting mileage and every stop I made to my rentals.

3) Proof I was there. Example, gasoline purchase near to my rental. Tenant signing a card, invoice or receipt that I was there.

4) Who I saw, their name and phone number.

5) Reason for my travels.

6) Proof I had a personal vehicle available that day but used my "business" vehicle for my travels.

With out a written signed log with the above proof, the IRS disallowed 20% of my travel expenses. Like big Brother looking over our shoulder.

Thank you all

Don - That is exactly what I mean. He says I can't claim those miles for hous e-hunting, only for a property I already own. I cry baloney! I just switched to him this year. I think I'll need to start looking again.

I found this:

All your expenses while looking for your rental and after your purchased it (except property taxes and mortgage interest if you have one) paid BEFORE the property was listed as available for rent are simply added to the cost of your rental property (in your records). This includes your "closing" expenses, such as appraisal costs, fire insurance, as well as your repair costs. The total amount is called adjusted basis (not just the cost, but the cost plus all your pre-rental expenses).

if you don't have any rentals-- searching for one or any classes you take are not deductible. Once you have property your golden.

Tracking your business on the new IRS form should help you document your business.

Get a new CPA.

I like my guy I've used for a long time, but he's a bit skittish about new rules. For example, this past year (2018 taxes), I had to push him a bit on the regs for claiming the QBI exemption. He basically said, "Ok, I'll do it, but you have to sign this form saying I didn't advise it and if you get audited that's on you."

I signed. Turned a $1,400 federal payments into a $700 refund. I'll be a little aggressive for $2,000.

Btw, even though some folks have a rather low opinion of IRS auditors, I am friends with one. She does her job, and according to her experience she will let a lot "slide" unless it's just truly bogus....like people who follow Robert Kyosaki's advice about taking the family on a Hawaiian vacation and writing it off as a "property hunting" real estate venture.

The key phrase is the expense must be "reasonable and necessary" to do your business.

So a trip to Hawaii is not necessary, unless you can demonstrate you are taking real steps to buying property there or using something unique about THAT location to enhance your existing business. It's harder to justify conferences in exotic locations since they are very far away and people can travel easily from point A to point B. So if someone ELSE (not you), sets up a conference there, then okay...you can probably write off the trip by showing that was where the REI info was. But if you travel there with your wife and kids to visit a consulting "expert" for 30 minutes....yeah, not gonna fly.

WMH: Yes, we have that part straight.

David: The company and specifically this preparer (I asked) says he has "many" R.E. investor clients.

You need a new accountant.

I follow the "spirit of the law" principle. We have multiple properties within about a two-mile radius. When I do maintenance visits, I might drive from home to property A, then to property B, then to C, then to HD to get supplies, then back to B to fix something, then A, then C. From a tax perspective, it doesn't make any difference whether those miles to HD are allocated to property A, B, or C. What matters is that I record the mileage and specify the purpose. I also count miles spent traveling to local REIA meetings.

I use Everlance to track miles. I have inspection reports, maintenance logs, and emails to back up the purpose of the visits. At the end of the year, I divide my total miles by the number of properties. I can't imagine the IRS having a problem with that. My CPA, who ONLY works with RE investors, also has no problem with that.

Sid has some wise words about IRS people. My CPA use to train people (auditors) for the IRS. Here's what she told me 30+ years ago.