Can you claim car repairs on your taxes?

Answer 1

Only if the car is used entirely for your self employment business purposes.

Or, if it is used partly for your personal use and partly for your business purposes, you can prorate costs and claim the prorated business expense, but only if your personal and business use mileage is documented. A small notebook or journal kept in the car to log trip mileage and trip purpose is usually acceptable documentation, you don't need anything fancy. Just work out the percentage of mileage driven for business purposes compared to total mileage, and apply that percentage to your total expenses (gas, maintenance, repairs). That portion of your expenses is tax deductable.

*The above answer is a generalization and applies to most, but possibly not all, Canadian and U.S. jurisdictions. Refer to local tax regulations or confer with a certified tax consultant of some sort for your individual purposes.*