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OP, you may want to re-think Uber as a money maker once you get a new clutch installed. How much money have you made with Uber? Do they give you a W-2 on that?
As a general rule, realize that any job that involves driving your own car causes additional wear on the car (mastering the obvious) - Taxi type duty on any car where changing out the clutch is not really easy (consider the air-cooled Bug, although Uber won't accept it) you will probably spend a good bit of your Uber earnings in extra clutch jobs. If you can do your own clutch job, you can make more money as a mechanic than as a Uber driver.
People like Uber because it puts cash in their hand more or less "right now", but don't realize that a good bit of that cash is going to go back to the car, sooner or later.
Getting back to the OP - Yeah, from what I have read here, looks like you have worn out your clutch disc in about 50K miles. I can't say it's directly due to Uber driving, but that seems to be where the smart money is going.
I should think anyone who's done it long enough to wear out a clutch realizes by now that much of the money they're making is just an advance loan on the future depreciation of their car. That may not be a great way to make a living but it's a way to help keep yourself afloat until something better comes along as the OP is doing.
I should think anyone who's done it long enough to wear out a clutch realizes by now that much of the money they're making is just an advance loan on the future depreciation of their car. That may not be a great way to make a living but it's a way to help keep yourself afloat until something better comes along as the OP is doing.
OK now that you mention that, is it possible the OP can write off at least part of the clutch replacement as a business expense? I'm an engineer, not a tax accountant, but offhand it seems to me it might well be possible.
People who really understand cars and business do realize that Uber money is coming partly at the expense of their car. Too many Joe Lunchbox types just see the short-term ready cash and the additional car maintenance/depreciation costs blindside them. Or so it seems to me. They see what they want to see.
OK now that you mention that, is it possible the OP can write off at least part of the clutch replacement as a business expense? I'm an engineer, not a tax accountant, but offhand it seems to me it might well be possible.
People who really understand cars and business do realize that Uber money is coming partly at the expense of their car. Too many Joe Lunchbox types just see the short-term ready cash and the additional car maintenance/depreciation costs blindside them. Or so it seems to me. They see what they want to see.
He can write off the expense in proportion to how much of his mileage is for business versus personal use, but only if he's tracking and deducting actual expenses. For most people it's easier and more beneficial to take the standard mileage deduction. I'm not sure what the deduction is this year, somewhere around 55 cents per mile. If I understand correctly though, once you choose one method you have to stick with that method until the car is retired from service.
I keep track of the actual fuel expenses and compare it with the standard mileage. You can deduct actual cost of fuel. Sometimes the standard deduction is more than if you deduct the actual expenses, but there is more than the actual fuel such as supplies, maintenance, and repairs, so I will likely deduct fuel costs.
As I said though, I was not driving Uber with the intention of it being full time. There are some Saturdays where I made between 200-300 dollars, it it has often generated 500+ per week, so it's not as if a 1300 dollar repair takes away the entire profit, as that's 2-3 weeks of income over 10 months of work.
Your question about KIA as the only source of parts. There are many foreign owned auto companies, where you can only get parts through them. Especially if it is a vehicle with lower sales numbers for a particular model. It is not practical for after market parts being made unless there is sufficient demand for parts to do so.
The parts are only made by KIA. I already paid for the parts and a shop is going to put them together for 6 hours of labor.
As far as taxes, the standard deduction for the mileage I use is a huge deduction and more than the amount of expenses I pay leaving with little taxable income, and I have a lot of deduction including tuition, so I likely won't even have to pay any taxes this year or for the next couple years. That makes me smart.
He can write off the expense in proportion to how much of his mileage is for business versus personal use, but only if he's tracking and deducting actual expenses. For most people it's easier and more beneficial to take the standard mileage deduction. I'm not sure what the deduction is this year, somewhere around 55 cents per mile. If I understand correctly though, once you choose one method you have to stick with that method until the car is retired from service.
This here^^^^^
Unless he has two vehicles and one is strictly for Uber use then he can deduct repairs/maint or mileage. I always deducted mileage because it was always a higher number than repairs or maintenance
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