Are Parking Tickets Tax Deductible?

As a self-employed individual, you may incur parking fines while operating your business. Here, we’ll explain if parking fines are tax deductible, which parking-related expenses you can claim, and how to claim these parking expenses on your tax return to the IRS.

How to determine if parking fines are tax-deductible

If you get a parking ticket or a fine for a traffic violation, unfortunately, they are not tax-deductible expenses—even if they are business-related expenses. That’s because the IRS doesn’t want to offer any incentives for business owners to break the law.

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Parking-related expenses that are tax-deductible

Although you cannot write off parking tickets, there are other parking expenses that are tax deductible.

Parking fees: You can claim parking fees, such as the amount you paid to park your car at a client’s office. However, the parking fees you pay to park your car at your place of business are not tax deductible.

Tolls: You can deduct business-related tolls that you’ve paid. We have more information about deducting tolls in our article on deducting tolls.

Vehicle expenses: You can also deduct car expenses to operate and maintain your car.

Standard mileage rate: Every year, the IRS provides a set rate per mile that you can use to calculate your deductible car expenses. For 2024, the standard business mileage rate is 67 cents ($0.67) per mile. It’s important to note that the IRS requires you to choose between claiming vehicle expenses or the standard mileage rate—not both.

We’ve written a detailed guide on IRS mileage reimbursements and self-employed mileage deduction rules, which also includes information about the types of transportation expenses you can claim.

How you can write off parking expenses

Here are the steps in writing off parking fees and vehicle expenses.

Parking fees and tolls

When you claim business-related parking fees and tolls, you will need to fill out Form 2106, Part 1, line 2.

Standard mileage vs. actual vehicle expenses

Remember, when you file your annual tax return, the IRS gives you two options. You’ll need to choose either the standard mileage method or calculating your actual vehicle expenses.

If you choose to go with the standard mileage rate, you claim a deduction by completing Form 2106, Part II, Section B.  Don’t forget that you can still add the parking fees and tolls as they are considered separate expenses.

If you claim your vehicle expenses, you can fill out Schedule C (Form 1040).

Whichever method you decide on, it’s best practice to keep accurate records of your transactions. You can do this by keeping a copy of your receipts and having a separate business bank account to track all of your business expenses.

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