To deduct the standard mileage rate for business travel, the specific form you use depends on the nature of your business and how you're reporting your income and expenses. If you're self-employed and reporting business income and expenses on Schedule C (Form 1040), you would deduct the standard mileage rate on this form. The 2023 Instructions for Schedule C detail how to calculate and enter the deduction. Specifically, if you take the standard mileage rate, you multiply the number of business miles driven by the rate for 2023, which is 65.5 cents per mile, and add any business-related parking fees and tolls to this amount. This total is then entered on line 9 of Schedule C. It's important to note that when you opt for the standard mileage rate, you cannot deduct depreciation, rent or lease payments, or your actual operating expenses for the vehicle.
Regarding the need to figure depreciation of the vehicle when using the standard mileage rate, the answer is no, you do not need to figure depreciation separately. When you choose the standard mileage rate for a vehicle, you are treated as having elected to exclude the vehicle from being depreciated under the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS). This is explicitly stated in the retrieved information from Publication 946, which mentions that using the standard mileage rate to figure your tax deduction for your business automobile treats the automobile as having been elected out of MACRS. Therefore, if you opt for the standard mileage rate, you do not calculate or deduct depreciation for the vehicle on your tax return.
Sources:
Publication 463 (2023)
2023 Instructions for Schedule F (2023)
Instructions for Form 2106 (2023)
Instructions for Form 4562 (2023)
Publication 946 (2023)
2023 Instructions for Schedule E (2023)
2023 Instructions for Schedule C (2023)
