Can I Deduct Car Repairs on My Taxes?

Car repair expenses are generally considered personal costs and are not deductible on your tax return. However, specific situations allow for these expenses to be claimed, primarily when the vehicle is used for business or certain other qualifying activities. The ability to deduct these costs depends on the purpose of the vehicle’s use and the method chosen for calculating vehicle expenses. This article will explore the conditions under which car repairs may become deductible.

Business Use of Your Vehicle

When a vehicle is used for business, certain expenses, including car repairs, may become deductible. This primarily applies to self-employed individuals, independent contractors, and small business owners who use their personal vehicle for work-related activities. Employees generally cannot deduct unreimbursed car expenses due to tax law changes after 2017, with limited exceptions for certain professions like Armed Forces reservists or qualified performing artists.

There are two primary methods for deducting vehicle expenses: the standard mileage rate and the actual expense method. The standard mileage rate, which is 70 cents per mile for business use in 2025, simplifies deductions by factoring in various costs, including repairs. If you choose this method, you cannot deduct individual repair costs separately, as they are already accounted for within the per-mile rate.

Alternatively, the actual expense method allows you to deduct the specific costs incurred to operate your vehicle for business. This method includes expenses such as gas, oil, insurance, registration fees, and car repairs. To use this method, you must track all vehicle-related expenses throughout the year and determine the percentage of the vehicle’s use that was for business purposes. For instance, if 70% of your vehicle’s mileage was for business, you can deduct 70% of your repair costs.

Distinguish between routine repairs and capital improvements. Routine repairs, such as replacing a broken headlight or mending a fender, are generally expensed in the year they occur. Capital improvements, however, add value, prolong the useful life, or adapt the property to a new use, such as installing a new engine. These improvements are not immediately deductible but must be depreciated over several years, typically five years for vehicles.

Other Deductible Car Uses

Beyond general business use, specific scenarios allow car-related expenses, including certain repair costs, to contribute to tax deductions. These situations are narrowly defined and typically relate to medical transportation or charitable activities. The deductibility of repairs in these contexts is limited and often indirect.

For medical transportation, you can deduct transportation expenses primarily for and essential to medical care. This can include the cost of gas, oil, parking fees, and tolls. While direct car repair costs are not typically deductible, the IRS allows a standard medical mileage rate of 21 cents per mile for 2025. If you use the actual expense method for medical travel, you can claim fuel and oil expenses, but not maintenance or repairs. To claim medical expenses, your total qualified expenses must exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.

For charitable activities, if you use your personal vehicle to provide services to a qualified charitable organization, you may deduct unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses. This includes the cost of gas and oil. The standard mileage rate for charitable use is 14 cents per mile. Similar to medical mileage, general repair, maintenance, depreciation, or insurance are not deductible for charitable use. However, parking fees and tolls can be deducted in addition to either the standard mileage rate or actual gas and oil costs.

Moving expenses, including vehicle costs for transportation, are generally no longer deductible for most taxpayers since 2018, a change set to remain in effect through 2025. The primary exception is for active-duty members of the Armed Forces who move due to a permanent change of station under military orders. For qualifying military moves, transportation costs, including the actual cost of oil, gasoline, parking fees, and highway tolls, can be deducted. In lieu of actual costs, a standard mileage rate for moving expenses, which is 21 cents per mile for 2025, can be used.

Documentation and Reporting

Meticulous record-keeping is required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for vehicle expense deductions. For the actual expense method, you must retain receipts and invoices for all car repairs, maintenance, gas, oil, and other operating costs. You must also track the total miles driven for the year and the specific miles driven for business or other deductible purposes.

A detailed mileage log is essential for substantiating vehicle deductions, whether using the standard mileage rate or actual expenses. This log should include the date of each trip, the destination, the business purpose of the travel, and the starting and ending odometer readings for each trip. The IRS prefers “contemporaneous” record-keeping, meaning records should be made at or near the time of the expense or trip.

Self-employed individuals report car and truck expenses on Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business. If you use the standard mileage rate, the vehicle information is typically entered in Part IV of Schedule C. If you opt for the actual expense method, you will list your vehicle information in the depreciation section of Schedule C, and may need to complete Form 4562, Depreciation and Amortization, depending on whether depreciation is claimed or other assets require the form.

For medical and charitable mileage deductions, these expenses are typically reported as itemized deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040). Moving expenses for qualifying military personnel are reported on Form 3903, Moving Expenses, which is then attached to Form 1040, Schedule 1.