Warning: That "friendly" accountant I found on Craigslist cost me $1,200 in missed deductions

A guy named Steve in Columbus told me I didn't need to track mileage since I work from home, so I skipped logging 8 months of client visits. Turns out the IRS lets freelancers deduct 65.5 cents per mile for business travel even if your home is your main office. Has anyone else gotten bad tax advice from a random cheap accountant?

3 comments

3 Comments

dianal941mo agoMost Upvoted

Man, that Steve sounds like he should stick to balancing his own checkbook and leave us freelancers alone. My tax guy told me I could deduct the snacks I buy for client meetings, but forgot to mention I needed receipts for every single granola bar. Now I'm just hoping the IRS accepts my "vibes-based accounting" as a valid method.

finleyh8925d ago

Yeah I've noticed that "vibes-based accounting" is basically how half the people I know handle their taxes now. It's like we all decided receipts are optional and the IRS just needs to trust us. I had a buddy who tried to deduct his whole Spotify subscription as a business expense because he listens to music while working. When he got audited he just told them it's for customer research or something. The whole freelancer tax thing feels like everyone is just guessing and hoping for the best.

the_nina1mo ago

Ngl @dianal94 "vibes-based accounting" is sending me. Honestly Steve the Craigslist hero sounds like he'd tell you to deduct your dog as a dependent if you fed it during a Zoom call.