I'm an independent contractor (musician) and I get paid via 1099 from various establishments. I do not have a business license.

Can I claim mileage expenses on my 2013 tax returns?

Do I need to do a Schedule C in order to claim mileage?

If I do a Schedule C, all I really have is my 1099 total as Gross Business Receipts, and then calculate the mileage and put my adjusted Gross income on the first page, right?

Up until now, I've only been including my 1099 totals on my 1040's. My total 1099 income is about $9k and I drove 4000+ miles in 2013.

#1;commuti
ng, from home to biz/work, is not deductible; butif your home is your regular place of business and you have to drive to your clients to complete your work or to deliver your completed work you may deduct the cost of the round-trip transportation between your home and your clients.any driving from one biz to another, can be reported as business mileage on Sch C. You should try both the standard mileage deduction and actual expense method to see which method gives you the largest deduction. The larger the deduction you are entitled, the more you save in taxes. Every time you reduce your taxable income by taking more auto expenses, you reduce your total federal taxes by 25% - 50% plus applicable state taxes so you need to make sure you maximize the auto deduction by trying both methods. estimated business miles are not allowed to support your tax deduction


#2;correct; your business expenses you incur during your tax year are deducted using your Sch C. Included in those deductions is business mileage. Business miles are miles driven to perform your job duties. For example, driving to meetings with clients, delivering items to vendors or servicing other business needs.

#3;no the amount after the mileage exp is reported on Sch C line 29, 31 and 1040 line 12 sch se lline 2, 3 aslongas it is $400 or exceeds $400