While it may be an age-old problem for fleet managers, dealing with drivers’ personal use continues to be a costly issue. Many companies absorb the cost of personal use. According to a CRSfleet while paper, “Armed with an understanding of cost and compliance issues, as well as the technology to address these problems, fleets can gain visibility into personal use and appropriately realign their programs.” Here are a few highlights from the white paper:
The Expense of Personal Use: According to CRSfleet, the average cost of personal use is much higher than an industry standard – CRSfleet estimates it to be more than $230 per month per vehicle – which means companies may be losing as much as $2,800 per vehicle each year in foregone chargebacks.
Exposure to Audit: To be compliant with IRS rules, drivers must accurately track and report mileage, and companies must calculate the taxable benefit or recover the value of personal use of a company-provided vehicle. The IRS has recently announced this will be an area of special focus in 2013.
Accurate Reporting and Measurement Recoups Personal Use Costs: With the introduction of CRSfleet, companies can accurately record personal use miles, drive cost recovery and automate compliance — all without the intrusive aspects and privacy concerns of in-vehicle, active GPS.
Calculating Correct Costs: The company says that its mobile solutions accurately measure the exact commute, business, and personal miles and automatically calculate the correct amount to charge for personal use. Chargeback calculations are based on individual driver usage, fuel prices in the driver’s territory and the lease cost associated with the vehicle.
IRS Compliance: CRSfleet automatically differentiates commute, personal and business miles and accurately accounts for each of them based on IRS requirements. From there, the company creates daily, IRS-compliant mileage logs, and retains the records for seven years.
Increased Productivity and Efficiency: CRSfleet also provides valuable insights into how vehicles are used in the field, leading to route optimization, increased driver productivity, fuel and time efficiency, desired driver behavior, and cost savings.
CRSfleet’s mobile software-as-a-service solutions enable clients to better manage fleet costs, ensure IRS compliance, adhere to IRS approved commute deduction guidelines (available on www.crsfleet.com), and increase visibility into vehicle use in the field.
Click here to download and read the report.
