A:
I don’t know what grade your son received in the tax class. I teach an income tax at our local college
one semester a year. I teach so I can
say that I am a “professor emeritus,” whatever that means. Anyway, if he would have taken my class I
would be disappointed because he is wrong.
Here is the deal. If
you used an auto for business travel last year and claim the standard mileage
deduction, be sure to pay attention to when you took the trips. High gasoline
prices in 2011 prompted the IRS to increase the deduction rate at midyear.
The mileage rate for business use of a vehicle was 51
cents per mile from Jan. 1, 2011, through June 30, 2011.
On July 1, 2011, the rate increased to
55.5 cents a mile.
This type of tax deduction change is why good tax record
keeping is so important.