Does anyone know how valuable a magnetic sign advertising on the side of your vehicle is as far as writing off mileage at the end of the year for taxes? Can all of the miles be written off at the end of the year for advertisement if I had a sign on the side of my car that stated “we buy and sell houses,” Call ###-####? Or, can only a certain amount of mileage be written off per year, eventhough the advertisement sign is on both sides of your vehicle. Thanks…
I assume that the vehicle in question is your personal car and not a vehicle owned by your business.
If so, then you can only take an advertising expense for the cost of the signs. You can take a mileage expense when you use your car for business related travel.
When using your vehicle for your personal errands, or commuting to and from your day job, you don’t get to take a mileage expense even (though you are operating a rolling billboard) because the primary purpose of your trip is unrelated to your business.
Depending on your state, you may be able to get the entire car classified as a business asset and deduct both most of its purchase cost and its mileage. This assumes that it is used primarily as a business asset.
However since the exact rules vary from state to state, I would suggest getting the advice of an accountant.
A good accountant will usually pay for themselves many times over by saving you taxes and you won’t have to deal with the headache of tax preparation yourself.
The tax treatment on your federal income tax return is governed by federal law, not state statute.