Buy or lease Tesla Model Y

[denise4god]

I want to get a vehicle for business use. I started small business registered as LLC to provide online services and sales starting this year and not much income has been produced and mostly it's all expenses to jump start my business and vehicle is a must for my business travel. I'm using my old personal car as of today but I'm thinking to lease a Tesla model Y than buying it through my entity.
I wanted to know if I can write off lease down payment and monthly payment in tax returns during the life of the lease(3 years) every year rather than opting for business mileage deduction?

 

[femelle]

@denise4god With the way they are dropping in value? Stay the hell away. If you wanna get a car for yourself and claim it as a business expense. It’s a pretty dumb move imo. In my state, you cannot claim a car if you have an online store. Whats the car for? Drive to the wifi router?

 

[denise4god]

@femelle I am cautious too with the way Tesla dropping the Model Y price.

With online services, I provide IT consulting services too so commute to client is 2-3 times a week.

If vehicle is used 100% for business purpose, i'm kind of confuse where lease payment is better and payment (down payment & monthly) be write off. If so then what %? If not then buy and standard deduction is way to go. What do you suggest?

 

[femelle]

@denise4god I would buy a used and cheap suv, van or truck if you need to haul equipment. Otherwise, get a small 4 cylinder. Ride it till the wheels fall off. Don’t go into debt if you are just starting or at all. Some businesses do require capital to start off, but it sounds to me like you just need something cheap and reliable. When you start making the big bucks, treat yourself to whatever you like because you earned it. Also, do you really think your customers care about the car you drive if you show up in a used old school honda? A smart business owner will probably remember their first days when working with you if anything. Thats my advice, but hey im just some random person wasting time at work, so what do I know.

 

[denise4god]

@femelle 100% agreed.

 

[matt123]

@denise4god If you're just using the car to drive to your consulting client, that's considered a primary commute and wouldn't be tax deductible, it's not a business purpose. If you consult with multiple clients a day then your drive from home to the first client and your drive from the last client home is not deductible, but the miles driven from client 1 to client 2 are deductible.

IOW the tax laws are written with the idea that everyone has a basic commute to work and that's a personal (non-business, non-deductible) expense. If your business requires you to drive to multiple clients, the miles beyond that basic commute - home to work - are business expenses.

 

[allie1313]

@denise4god Get a nice economy car and have it wrapped