With business travel picking up again and summer fast approaching, many business owners may be considering trips that combine work with vacation or other personal activities. A quick refresher on the IRS rules related to deducting business vs. personal travel costs can help you reduce your tax bill next year.
General Requirements
Business expenses must be "ordinary and necessary" to be deductible for federal income tax purposes. When it comes to business travel, you can deduct the ordinary and necessary expenses of traveling away from your home for business for more than one day.
"Home" refers to the city or general area where you work, regardless of where you live. If you have more than one place of business, your tax home is your principal place of business.
Domestic Travel
When traveling within the United States, you can generally deduct 100% of your travel expenses to get to and from the destination (airplane tickets and cab fares) depending on if the trip is primarily for business. Whether travel is mainly for business turns on how much time you spend on business purposes vs. personal purposes. For example, if you travel for ten days and spend seven days visiting clients and three sightseeing, the trip is primarily for business. If you spend more of the trip on personal than business purposes, you can't deduct any travel expenses to and from the destination. You can, however, deduct expenses you incur while at your destination that would otherwise qualify as business expenses.
When your trip is primarily for business, you can deduct the cost of your lodging, and under temporary rules, you can deduct 100% of meal costs for 2022. (This deduction is scheduled to revert to 50% of meal costs in 2023.) You may also deduct other qualified business expenses incurred on the days you spend on the business. But you generally can't deduct expenses incurred by a companion unless that person is an employee.
Foreign Travel
You'll need to allocate your travel expenses daily between business and personal days for foreign travel, deducting only the portion allocable to business days. Business days include:
- Transportation days,
- Days your presence is required (even if you spend most of the day on personal activities),
- Days you spend on business, and
- Weekends and holidays that fall between business days.
The IRS recognizes four exceptions to this general rule. You don't have to allocate any of your travel expenses to and from a foreign destination if:
1. You're out of the country for seven consecutive days or less (counting the day you return to the country but not the day you leave). For example, traveling to London for a four-day meeting and spending two more days on personal activities is considered seven days out of the country.
2. You're out of the country for more than one week but spend less than 25% of that time on personal activities (counting both the day you leave and return). For example, you fly to Japan and spend 14 days on business and five on individual actions, with one day traveling each way. That's 21 days, but you've spent less than 25% (5/21) of the time on personal activities.
3. You don't have substantial control over your travel arrangements. This exception generally doesn't apply to business owners, executives, or the self-employed.
4. Vacation isn't a significant consideration for the trip.
In each of these cases, your travel is considered "entirely for business." You can deduct 100% of your travel expenses to and from the destination, plus your lodging and meal expenses (subject to the applicable limit) for the business days. Of course, any expenses explicitly related to personal travel would be nondeductible.
Build a Record
The rules for deducting business travel can be complicated, but the tax savings can be significant. Contact a Reynolds + Rowella tax advisor with any questions about which costs are deductible and how to ensure you have proper documentation.
Reynolds + Rowella is a regional accounting and consulting firm known for a team approach to financial problem solving. As Certified Public Accountants, our partners foster a personal touch with our clients. As members of DFK International/USA, an association of accountants and advisors, our professional network is international, yet many of our clients have known us for years through the local communities we serve.
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