Reference
Glossary
Click an underlined term in any EveryLastMile post and you land here. §274(d) substantiation, the Schedule C "Car and truck expenses" line, the OBBBA's new $2,000 1099-NEC threshold — each one defined once, in one place, with the IRS source cited.
Every entry follows three rules. Cite the actual source — Internal Revenue Code section, Treasury Regulation, Revenue Procedure, or Tax Court opinion — not "the IRS says somewhere." Show the math with real dollar amounts. Write it the way you'd explain it to a driver between rides, not a partner at a tax firm. Tax law is hard enough without the writing being hard too.
15 definitions · Each entry links to the long-form guides where the term shows up in context.
Mileage & vehicle expenses
How the IRS lets you turn business miles into a deduction — and what they require in return.
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§274(d) Substantiation
The strict four-element record-keeping rule that governs vehicle deductions. The Cohan rule does not apply. Lose the log, lose the deduction.
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Accountable Plan
Treas. Reg. §1.62-2 — the only way a W-2 employer can pay mileage tax-free in 2026. Three rules, two deadlines, one big difference.
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Actual Expense Method
The 'track every receipt' alternative to the IRS standard mileage rate. Sometimes a bigger deduction — and sometimes a one-way door.
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Automatic Drive Tracking (ADT)
Apple's term for sensor-fusion-based drive detection. The technology that lets an iPhone log a business mile without you opening an app.
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Business-Use Percentage
Business miles divided by total miles. The pivot point for the actual expense method — and for the 50% MACRS-depreciation cliff.
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IRS Standard Mileage Rate
The IRS's per-mile shortcut for deducting vehicle costs. 72.5¢ for business miles in 2026 — and that number already includes gas, insurance, and depreciation.
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Mileage Log
The contemporaneous record §274(d) requires. Four elements per trip, kept at or near the time of the drive. Phone notebooks fail; auto-logged GPS records win.
Self-employment & taxes
Schedule C, SE tax, QBI, quarterly estimateds — the forms and figures every gig earner files.
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1099-NEC
The form a business sends an independent contractor. The threshold jumps from $600 to $2,000 for 2026 payments — but the income is taxable either way.
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No Tax on Tips Deduction (§224)
New IRC §224, born from OBBBA §70201. Up to $25,000 of qualified tips deductible above the line — but only for income tax, not SE tax.
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QBI Deduction (§199A)
The 20% deduction on qualified business income for pass-through owners. Made permanent by OBBBA, with a new $400 minimum starting in 2026.
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Quarterly Estimated Taxes
The IRS gets paid as you earn — four times a year. Form 1040-ES, IRC §6654, and a $1,000 trigger.
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Schedule C
The IRS form where self-employed people report business profit or loss. Line 9 is the mileage line — and it's the line that pays for ELM.
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Self-Employment Tax
The 15.3% Social Security + Medicare tax self-employed people pay in lieu of FICA withholding. Half is deductible above the line.
Worker classification & recent law
Independent contractor vs. employee, plus the post-OBBBA changes that move real money.
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Independent Contractor
Not an employee. The IRS, the DOL, and California all have different tests — and '1099 employee' is not a real legal category.
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OBBBA (One Big Beautiful Bill Act)
Pub. L. 119-21, signed July 4, 2025. The most consequential tax law for self-employed people since the TCJA — here are the seven sections that matter.