company car...what is the compensation reported to me?

I am a W2 employee (President of a small MFG company). I live 34 miles from the factory. The company wants to get me an economical company car to drive to and from work as I currently own a gas guzzler and want to sell it. I don't understand the IRS regs concerning commuting. I have read the rules but still don't understand them. Question: If I have a legitimate company reason for going by a post office box everyday appro. 2 miles from my house can I use the company car(that I drove home the night before) and not be 1099d for the rest of the way to work/ I probably am not scripting this clearly but you folks will probably understand what I am trying to achieve. Thanks, Ed

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Yes, and so might the IRS! ;-)

Really, this is a tax question, you should try asking over in misc.taxes.moderated. Plus, the issue needs to be sorted out by the company, not the employee, as they will be reporting whatever fringe benefit compensation comes into play, on a W-2, not a 1099.

Keep in mind:

commuting is never deductible

personal use of a company-provided vehicle is a taxable fringe benefit

there is a whole menu of rules that can be followed to determine the taxable benefit to the employee of an employer-provided vehicle (lease value, cents-per-mile, commuting rule, general rule, etc), which can be affected by whether you are required to use the vehicle, whether there is any personal use besides just commuting, and whether you are a highly compensated employee ("president" sounds like it might fit that description).

how have you been handling the stop at the post office with your current vehicle (or are you saying that the requirement just happened to spring up at the same time as your decision to sell your personal vehicle?) Why does your factory have a post office box that is 32 miles away from your principal place of business? Is this a commonly accepted practice in your industry?

-Mark Bole