![]() ![]() "I've seen it where people take their family and kids, and call their kids employees," Estill says. When it comes to family, tread carefully. Keep all convention-related materials, she says. "The IRS does check the nature of conventions, seminars, etc., carefully to make sure they are not vacations in disguise," Rosen says. But try to attend a convention in Rome, and the IRS will ask why you couldn't get the same benefit from going to a convention in, say, Cleveland. You can deduct your expenses if the convention is in North America and the Caribbean if you can prove they are directly related to your trade or profession. "If you understand what the law says, and you plan it properly ahead of time, and you document what you did and what you learned, then things will probably work out."Ĭonventions and conferences can be a sticking point. "We oftentimes travel with mixed intentions or multiple intentions that are not clear," he says. Don't try to pass off that lunch your daughter had at Disneyland as a business expense. Goldin says there's nothing wrong with mixing business with pleasure as long as you're clear about it. You can deduct your airfare but not your spouse's, and you can deduct your hotel room for any night but Monday, plus half of your client meals. Monday, your travel day, plus Wednesday and Thursday count as business days, Rosen says. On Wednesday, you meet with a client, and on Thursday, you have lunch with that client, then you catch a flight home. Let's say you fly to Florida on a Monday with your spouse and take Tuesday as a vacation day. To make your entire trip deductible, the primary purpose has to be business rather than pleasure, says Gail Rosen, a certified public accountant in Martinsville, N.J. "The IRS does look closely at business travel expenses, because there is a lot of room for manipulation, the most common method being grouping personal travel expenses in with business travel expenses," says Mark Minassian, a certified public accountant at Minassian Associates in Waltham, Mass. "You don't necessarily have to make money, but it has to have the intent of making money," he says.īusiness travelers beware: The IRS is particularly keen on watching your expenses. Javier Goldin, a certified public accountant and managing partner of Goldin Group in Bethesda, Md., says you basically have to prove you're trying to make money. ![]() "It is a gray area, so you have some leeway to be aggressive, but it gives the IRS the ability to be aggressive in terms of denying it, too," Meighan says. ![]() But even that guideline can yield confusion. That is, they're typical of your industry and necessary for your business. You can even deduct your laundry service, dry cleaning and drinks at the bar.īut, says, Bob Meighan, lead certified public accountant for the American Tax and Financial Center at TurboTax, the IRS says your expenses have to be "ordinary and necessary." If you're self-employed or a small-business owner, you don't have to reach that threshold.Īnything that relates to your business is fair game: airfare, gasoline for your car, baggage fees, taxis, lodging, meals, phone calls and supplies. If you're an employee traveling for business and your company doesn't reimburse you for all your expenses, you can deduct any out-of-pocket expenses that exceed 2% of your adjusted gross income. "A lot of people just really push the rules, and, actually, they don't even push the rules they go over the line," says Scott Estill, a former IRS trial attorney and author of Tax This! An Insider's Guide to Standing Up to the IRS. The easiest and most efficient way is to write on the back of each slip the following: reason of the expense, name of the person you met, the location and date," says Paul Golden, spokesman for the National Endowment for Financial Education.Įach year, many people don't, yet still try to deduct as many of their business travel expenses as they can, tax experts say. "Make sure to keep track of all receipts and records. Just be prepared to offer documentation - even in the form of handwritten notes - to back them up. As you do your last-minute filings, be aware there are certain business travel expenses you'd be surprised you can deduct and others you can't. The deadline for filing your tax returns is six days away. "In his eyes, that was worthy of a deduction, because if it wasn't for the business trip, she wouldn't be there snorkeling," he says. Philip Panitz, a tax litigator at Panitz & Kossoff in Westlake Village, Calif., once had a physician try to deduct his wife's snorkeling expenses in Hawaii while he was at a medical seminar. An orthopedic "doughnut" cushion.Īccountants and other tax experts say they've seen it all when it comes to expenses business travelers try to deduct during tax season. ![]()
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