I'm not sure why you are trying to debate with me. I'm not pretending what might happen. I'm reporting what actually happened and if you think hauling some boxes of candy and soft pretzels (what I actually hauled) is the same as hauling a 4600 trailer (what you want to imagine me hauling) I'm not going to get anywhere.

The ranger wasn't really a ranger it was a 01 4 cylinder Mazda B2500 five speed 2 wheel drive with crank windows. Its the same as a ford ranger. Literally the same assembly line even I think.

The big truck is a power stroke 6.7L now and gets 14mpg. I drive that when real things need hauling.

Actually I averaged 24.7mpg.

This is what triggered my audit a few years ago - I had not received my 1099 from a mutual fund sale from a brokerage firm. During the audit - the IRS took the sale as all profit. I had to explain to the auditor about cost basis and the sale was not all profit - they had a hard time understanding that it actually cost something to buy the mutual fund.
And yes, my USDA 1099s are usually the last I receive next to my 1099 INT from bank well after deadlines passed.

My small trucks (1985.5 Toyota, 2001 Silverado, and a 2004 Silverado) are all for hunting/trapping, the biggest thing I haul around in any of them is a snowmobile or a dead moose. I have a problem buying every Cummins powered truck that I come across, I bought a 1995 12 valve when I was 17 years old and I quickly decided I liked them, so now 16 years later I have a collection (still have the original 12 valve that started it all). For fuel consumption it's hard to beat diesel, I can tow 20,000lbs on a gooseneck and still get at least 15mpg, ditch the trailer and I get 20+ even out of an old 12 valve, my 6.7 gets amazing mileage for a one ton (25+)

best vehicle for tax advantages is interesting - it would vary upon needs, income, other deductions etc but could be determined over a few years - for example most farmers know roughly what they need to spend if they sell 80 calves at 1k a head. THey know what feed is going to cost, fuel, equipment etc and know overall how many dollars of expenses they need to spend yearly to reduce their tax burden to nothing. Same for big corporations - they know if they make so much in sales - they need so much of expenses to show no profit to pay no taxes. Regular Joe Shmoe working a 9-5 never gonna have a clue what it takes to get ahead themselves if they don't wisen up on tax code.

So you loan 19% of your money to the feds and the state for the year free and clear, interest free?
I withhold as little as legally allowed without penalty so that I can draw interest on my money all year long instead of the government.

We get 1098 forms from our brokerage firm or firms. Many times there is an original one and then a final one, many times the final one comes in very late March or early April, which is one reason we wait longer as well. I typically know what I will owe or recieve in a refund long before we file so ther is no real surprises. Mot times the changes in the 1098 forms are very small but filing with the the incorrect numbers is easily audited by the IRS.

Bryce

Every tax guy I’ve used says try to figure out as close to zero owed or refunded. Don’t let Feds use it all year

My wife tracks her/our milage on deliveries and farm related longer trips like conferences. Of course many miles of short trips that are combined personal( groceries) and farm ( picking up feed) don't get included. And we miss out on some dedications. Part of that is being lazy and the other not wanting to have a single thing that is even remotely questionable..

It's much nicer to get money back than to have to pay more. By the way, I read here that in the U.S., there are even whistleblower programs for tax evasion cases where financial rewards can be obtained.