Mileage Reimbursement

[qwerty64]

Drawing up the paperwork for a do-it-yourself Chapter 7 filing.

I use my personal auto for business appointments in my job. My employer reimburses me 33 cents per mile. Should this be considered income for sake of the means test?

Or, is it is reimbursement for my out-of-pocket expenses and not "income".

Thanks in advance.

[tcreegan]

Hi qwerty,

No expert on the expense/reimburse issue, doesn't seem to be income to me....

But...noticing the "DIY"....just wanted to offer some resources, you might already know these, but maybe not?

NOLO book (www.nolo.com) Highly recommended step-by-step guide to filing a BK Many pro-se filers swear by it.

Northern Indiana BK court has a nice section on pro-se filing http://www.innb.uscourts.gov/prose.asp (Not sure if you are north or south, but the northern court has a much better section on pro-se filing)

Also, somewhere between filling out the forms and filing you will need to go to your court's website and look at the "local rules" This is where your court may do something a little differently, order of documents, use this coversheet, include/don't include this w/ the petition, how to hole-punch (or not) documents, use this caption, and probably the most important: how to format the creditors matrix.

...and of course asking questions here! Great resource!

Tom in Colo

[SunshineGal]

Take advantage of a few consults with attorneys in your area before you file and be sure to ask them about this question.

[daylate]

I would say no it is not income, unless somewhere in your filing you are claiming higher expenses without considering the reimbursement. Current IRS regs allow you to claim 50 cents a mile for business mileage so you actually have unreimbursed expenses from a tax perspective. Also if you have to file an expense report with your employer to get the money then it is not (shouldn't be) reported as W-2 income. But as always best to check with your attorney.

[SunshineGal]

Now see, I would say it needs to be reflected with the expense listed to offset or else there could be problems. I found this which may help, but again, I would go see a few attorneys and get some solid advice.

http://www.*************************...ruptcy-budget/