Do I HAVE to claim my mileage?

Koalabb

I'm a 10-99 worker. I guess due to the "No Tax on Tips" this year, my mileage is now way too much to get EIC or Child credit?! So would it be legal to delete the vehicle expenses all together to receive a refund? It's so strange seeing less mileage result to more refund. It's always been the complete opposite

JohnV

The no tax on tips does not affect your EIC or CTC. For the CTC, $500 of it is nonrefundable tax credit, which can only go toward lower any tax liability you have, and up to $1700 is refundable credit that will be refunded to you even if you do not owe any taxes. Both the CTC and EIC calculation depends on your earned income, which includes W2 income and any business profits you have if you are a 1099 independent contractor. You can review the IRS rules on the CTC and EIC here:

CTC: https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/child-tax-credit
EIC: https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit-eitc

I would not delete the vehicle expenses or manipulate the business revenue and expenses to get more credits. Please report the revenue and expenses based on your actual records.

We cannot answer your question specifically without looking into your tax return, reviewing your 1099 income and what expenses you have and your filing status and earned income. Please chat with us when you log into your account and we can provide more specific answer.