Skip to main content

What will the 2008 standard mileage rate be?

Another timely question from a WI pastor: "What will the 2008 standard mileage rate be?"

Here’s the answer I received from my Wisconsin Institute of CPA membership sources…

Effective Jan. 1, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (including vans, pickups, or panel trucks) will be: 50.5 cents per mile for business miles driven; 19 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes; and 14 cents per mile drive in serves to a charitable organization (IR 2007-192; Rev Proc 2007-70, 2007-50 IRB).

The new rate for business miles is up two cents from 48.5 cents per mile in 2007. The new rate for miles driven for medical or moving purposes is one cent less than in 2007 when the rate was 20 cents per mile. The charitable mileage rate remains unchanged from 2007. The standard mileage rates for business, medical, and moving purposes are based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The charitable mileage rate is set by law. An employer may also reimburse employee automobile expenses with a mileage allowance using [the 50.5 cent] rate …

Source: WICPA

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Rental of a Church Parsonage to a Non-Minister

Question: A church owns a parsonage, but the pastor does not use it as he owns his own home. The church rents the parsonage to a tenant other than a minister or employee of the church. Will the church be responsible for paying income tax on these monies as Unrelated Business Income (filing a Form 990-T) even if the money is used to carry on the business of the church? Answer: Whether the money is used for church purposes is irrelevant.  IRS Publication 598  states: "If an exempt organization regularly carries on a trade or business not substantially related to its exempt purpose, except that it provides funds to carry out that purpose, the organization is subject to tax on its income from that unrelated trade or business." Fortunately, in the case of rental income from real property, such income is "excluded in computing unrelated business taxable income" (Publication 598). Caution: see content below regarding debt-financed property.  However, a second concern not a...

How can my ministry expenses be covered by the church?

     How can my ministry expenses be covered?                            Many ministers use their personal autos for ministry purposes. Their employers can reimburse these costs using a standard mileage rate published by the IRS. The per mile rate represents employees’ entire reimbursable cost other than highway tolls and parking tabs. If not covered by use of the ministries’ credit card, other costs can be reimbursed as well—business and travel meals, lodging, office supplies, and professional library purchases among them. Some ministries reimburse travel costs using per-diems published by the IRS. If employee business expenses are not reimbursed, the personal tax deduction benefit to the individual minister is severely limited. Non-taxable reimbursements after documentation is provided to the employer follows IRS rules for accountable plans. Non-taxable cash advances before expenses are in...

What health insurance coverage can I get as a minister?

    What are my options for health coverage as a minister?                       Many churches and Christian organizations have discontinued providing employer-paid group health plans. In lieu of paying out extremely expensive, one-size-fits-all insurance premiums, some have opted to provide taxable stipends and let employees shop for their own coverage. The good news: you can choose your own. The bad news: the stipend may not be enough and securing coverage can be complicated. Health care sharing plan options can be more economical. But they don’t qualify as standard health insurance: health care providers can balk, and the monthly subscriptions are not tax deductible. The Marketplace ( www.healthcare.gov ) offers alternatives, including advance premium tax credits to help with the monthly costs. Watch out for unpleasant surprises, however, since the tax credits must be reassessed when you file your annual Form...