Mileage to doctor appointments and substitute teaching

Vic#toria-416

I am recently remarried and my husband who is 77 states that he writes off mileage for doctor appointments and also his substitute teaching classes.

Am I able to do that? His prior tax return is in Morse code or I can't decipher what that preparer did!

Thank you!

Diana

Hello, the IRS does allow for you to deduct mileage as part of your medical expenses if you itemize your deductions. The catch is that you can only deduct the medical expenses if they are more than 7.5% of your AGI. The IRS has more information about that here (scroll down to the "Transportation" section to make sure it applies to your specific situation):

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p502

As far as mileage to/from a job, the IRS allows for this to be claimed only if you are an independent contractor, who files a Schedule C with the tax return. It you are paid with wages, the IRS generally doesn't allow you to claim mileage as an expense, except for a few exceptions.