Ask Dr ElJay (or DeeDub?)

[feuervogel]

Car-related: I had an oil change done a few weeks ago, and they didn't charge me for synthetic oil, so I assume they used 'regular.' Despite the sticker on my engine that says "only use synthetic oil of this particular variety." Will this affect my car in a negative way? For those of you who don't know, my car is a 2005 Mini Cooper S (about to hit 50k miles).

Other:

Can I write my cell phone off as a work-related expense? It's not required for my job, but I use it as my primary telephone contact number, and I periodically send email from my phone (using my mobile data plan.) I don't know what the applicable tax law is, or if there's some sort of percentage-based guideline.

Comments

[luckykitty.livejournal.com]

From what I recall when I was freelancing, technically, if you use it for anything other than work, you can't write it off. Other people DO do it, obviously, but like, if you have a "work computer" in your "home office" you're supposed to *ONLY* use the computer and the room for work, no use for home hobbies or fun or etc.

[beth_leonard]

We have an accountant answer questions like that for us. I wrote off 50% of my video camera initially when I bought it, and it depreciates over 5 years. I don't know about things like cell-phones that aren't capital expenses.

If you were employed full-time elsewhere, and your employer called you at home from time to time, would you be able to write off the phone? I think you can write off things like uniforms, but not commuting expenses, nor the cost of laundering the uniforms. If another taxpayer were in your situation, would you want them to write off the cell phone?

--Beth