Rural Carriers paid actual daily miles on the route

[Postaltexan]

Rural Carriers paid actual daily miles on the route
YOUR NAME Debbi

ISSUES EMA

YOUR IDEA OR CHANGE
We should be paid the actual miles we drive on the route. Up to the mailbox the whole route.

WHY DO YOU WANT TO CHANGE IT The USPS has been ripping us off by usually 2 miles per route in our office. when they measure, they drive down the middle of the street. Why are we allowing this? With the price of gas we should at least get a fair mileage count of our route

[Noppie]

The reason it is insane is because NRLCA is working for USPS and against the Rural Letter Carrier.

Not only should POV Rural Letter Carrier be paid actual miles and actual cost to include insurance, maintenance and repairs.  If Rural Letter Carrier uses his own RHD Vehicle or other POV to deliver the mail and that individual ONLY use it for mail deliver then he or she should be reimbursed 100% of all cost.  If they need a mail tray installed or other equipment that can ONLY be used for delivering mail that that as well should be reimburse.

If the Rural Letter Carrier uses the vehicle for personal use as well.  Then they should work out a formula and reimburse that percentage.  

But you will not find the NRLCA advocating anything that is beneficial to the Rural Letter Carrier    

[RR704062]

Actually, the NRLCA has listened to its membership and had the tax laws changed. Now it is the carriers option whether to simply use the EMA as full reimbursement for expenses ( for an older car used part on the route this can be to the carrier's benefit) or use the proper tax forms and deduct expenses ( With depreciation on a new car, this sometimes works out to the carrier's benefit).   Each route and situation is  different but, thanks to the NRLCA, each individual can do whichever works best.

[Noppie]

I use Turbo tax for my taxes.  When I could not figure how to do this within Turbo tax.  I called, to my surprise the warm body that answer said he had received several phones concern RCA and regular rural carriers looking into how to do this.

Turbo tax humans in charge of taxes options determined it was better to leave your EMI as is.  EMI is 100% tax free.  That even if you took 100% of all the deduction allowed and no matter how great your actual expenses were your would lose a percent of your EMI.  They determined if you purchased an old car that would be junked are a time period was the best option but you would still be in the hole money wise.

If you purchased a RHD vehicle new with a loan and took the depreciation so that after the shortest period of time, in time with paying off the loan.  Which is the normal method used for individual who have to supply specialized vehicles for their job.  You would lose big time.  First you could not sell it legally in concern to your taxes.  You depreciation it to zero based on whatever time period you selected.  So it had to junked or given away.  

I was told that IF I had another business and the example they used for someone who clean homes as their second job to the USPS and drove to people homes.  Then using the tax laws for the value of your vehicle and the expenses could then be deducted.  

The difference being you only get a certain percentage of all your depreciation but it was still higher then what the EMI was.  However since the USPS paid you EMI which did not cover all your expenses.  Turbo tax suggested not taking any tax option and sell your vehicle as soon as the loan is paid off for whatever your uncover expenses where.  Thus avoid capital gain taxes.  Again the example they used Police, cab  and construction companies generally sell their vehicles at auction cheaply to avoid capital gain taxes.  In Maryland even if you give away car you still have to pay the taxes owed on a zero value vehicle.  Unless you can prove you junked it.  Junking it cost money.  Selling it for scrap metal is better choice.

Could turbo tax be wrong?  Call them and ask as did.  If you have turbo tax and another tax software and redo your taxes from a previous year.  I did that.  You lose money.  

EMA needs to be 100% of all cost incurred, take the depreciation to the max and agree to donate your RHD vehicle to an RCA.  You still will not be compensated 100%, because that is how our tax laws are written.  But you would be closer then just accepting EMA