2 roads for claiming tax deductions on business miles

For many real estate professionals, your largest tax deduction may be the business miles you drive. There are two ways to deduct your mileage: You can (1) deduct your actual expenses for gas, depreciation, repairs and other car expenses; or (2) take the standard mileage deduction, which is 55.5 cents per mile for 2012. Whichever method you use, there's a simple way you can maximize your business miles: Use a home office for your real estate business. Commuting is not deductible Most real estate professionals have an office where they work on a regular basis. Unfortunately, you can't deduct the cost of traveling from your home to your regular place of business. These are commuting expenses, which are a nondeductible personal expense item. Example: Kim, a real estate broker, runs her business from an office in a downtown office building. Every day, she drives 20 miles to and from her suburban home to her office. None of this commuting mileage is deductible. Even if a trip from home ha...