It’s that time of year again!
Joy to the world, Christmas is here!
Yes, Christmas and New Year’s are just around the corner, but what I’m really talking about is new tax rules for 2015! Here are the top four that you should pay attention to when doing your expense reports and due diligence next year.
1. New Mileage Rate for 2015
If you’re logging expenses with our native mileage tracking system, take note:
Beginning Jan. 1, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be 57.5 cents per mile for business miles driven, up from 56 cents in 2014; 23 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down half a cent from 2014; and 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations.
Rates are based on a number of variables, including costs of operating a vehicle, insurance, maintenance and fuel costs. The charitable rate is set by law.
Source: The Sacramento Bee
Interesting that the mileage rate went up when oil prices have dropped almost 50% since last year, but what can ya do? The IRS does what the IRS wants.
2. Expensing Your Business Trips
Per diem annual high-low rates are at $259 for travel to any “high-cost locality” (think NYC, SF, Chicago, etc) and $179 for travel to everywhere else in the continental US. For the full list of which areas are considered a high- or low-cost locality, check out IRS.gov.
Take note: transportation fees to/from your hotel and business location, the mailing cost of filing travel vouchers, and paying employer-sponsored charge cards are not included in incidental expenses, which is a change from 2014. Whaaaaat?
3. Using Our Bitcoin Reimbursement Feature?
If you’ve received reimbursements through Expensify in Bitcoin, here’s some news for you: Bitcoin is taxable! The IRS counts trading Bitcoin as a property transaction under US law. It’s considered “a commodity with its own fluctuating value, like a stock or bond.” More from PSMag:
Digital currency miners—the people using their computers to solve complex math problems in order to release new money into the economy—have to track the value of their coins when first mined as well as when they use or sell them. If a miner mined one Bitcoin on January 1, 2013, when it was worth $13, then they must report $13 in direct income. Then, if they sold the Bitcoin on December 31, 2013, when it was worth roughly $1,000, they would be subject to capital gains tax on the $987 difference.
The tax rate will depend on if you invested or received Bitcoin as compensation, but keep in mind to include any Bitcoin transactions in your 2015 tax returns.
4. Yes, Taxes are Still Due April 15
Just like last year, and the year before, and the year before, taxes are due April 15th. SURPRISE! As the Thai say, same same but different.
Remember, all rules are effective for the 2015, which means they are in effect starting January 1, 2015 and don’t affect your 2014 returns.
Now that you know, go get ’em tiger!
Expensify Blog 
When will Expensify reflect new 2015 mileage rates while retaining 2014 rates for mileage incurred in 2014?!!!
Hi Mike! If your expense was created before the mileage change, it’ll have 2014 mileage rates. If it was created after the change, your mileage will reflect 2015 rates.
Expensify expenses created in 2014 currently reflect the 2014 IRS mileage rate of 56 cents/mile. My Expensify expenses created in 2015 still reflect the 2014 IRS mileage rate of 56 cents/mile, not the 2015 IRS mileage rate of 57.5 cents/mile as you infer. How do I address this? Expensify is presently invalid for me in 2015.