Business Travel Expense Deductions: What Does Not Qualify

Having travel expenses happens when you leave your general area for business. Many people end up paying at the end of this travel because they do not have a clear understanding of what is considered a business travel expense deduction.

If your duties require you from the general area of your tax home for a period substantially longer than an ordinary day’s work, and you need to get sleep or rest to meet the demands of your work while away – you are traveling away from business. However there are many situations when you travel that are not business travel expense deductions. Here are some situation that you should be aware of that are not deductible.

Situations that Are Not Business Travel Expense Deductions

Your tax home, generally, is the main place of your business or work, the entire city or general area. This is regardless of where you maintain a family home. So, here is a scenario. You work in Boston, Massachusetts where you stay in a hotel and eat out at restaurants. However, you have a family home in New York that you travel to on the weekends. Your expenses incurred for working in Boston are not deductible because that’s considered your tax home. Also, your travel expenses back to New York on the weekends are not considered business travel expense deductions, because that is not for work.

Travel expenses paid in connection with an indefinite work assignment cannot be deducted. An indefinite work assignment is considered anything over one year.

It is also not considered a business travel expense deduction if you are looking for work in a new trade or business – or if you are looking for work for the first time. If you are unemployed and there is a substantial gap in job history, and you are looking for a new job you may not deduct expenses, even if the job is in the same trade or business you previously worked. For more information on this check out the IRS’s Publication 529 (Miscellaneous Deductions).

If you need help better understanding what does not qualify as a business travel expense deduction, call the tax professionals at DeFreitas and Minsky LLP at (516) 746-6322 today!