14 November 2007
What Travel Expenses Are Tax Deductable?
Posted by Debo Hobo under: Business Travel .
The question is:
Can I deduct the cost of a vacation if I also conduct business on the trip?
The answer is:
If you take a vacation or other trip primarily for personal reasons, you can’t deduct any transportation costs, even if you do some business once you arrive at your destination. (So much for checking on your rental condo on Maui and writing off the trip.) You can, however, write off business expenses once you arrive at your destination.
Suppose you and your family travel to San Francisco. While you are there, you take a few hours to visit a customer and take him to lunch. You can deduct the cost of the cab fare between your customer’s office and your hotel, and you can also write off 50% of the meal. But you can’t deduct your airfare and hotel.
This is really good information for bloggers, travel bloggers in particular to know. Many of your expenses can be deducted, but please consult your CPA before submiting any IRS forms officially. Also I recommend incorporating and becoming a company with your blog being a product. With the end of the year looming now is the time to get prepared for next years tax savings.
Have you traveled somewhere for the purpose of blogging about it? That very well could be a tax deductions.
More imformative Q&A’s can be found on MSN’s Money Central.
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Good info to know! Thanks!
It seems you can deduct anything involving business.
I try to book shows in the destination where I travel. I stagger performances ever 3 days with some distance between where I am and where I’m going so I can see more of the country. Even if it means really small venues because A. I like being seen and performing, and B. The whole trip is tax deductible!! Maui here i come!!
What about a situation such as the Swiss_Mouse ran into…
A contractor at work made his wife an officer of their “company”. They would have company shareholder meetings…in Florida, etc. Thus they would somehow mess with the taxes in this manner.
Provided I have receipts for everything and I can prove it was for business I submits most if not all of my travel expenses to my bookkeepers and they deduct them from my taxes. Is a good feeling to see the amount of taxes decrease every year.
Although I do not recommend “messing” with or fudging the numbers or claiming a travel expense that isn’t just to get a tax return. Can’t spend that in jail!
Jon,
That is a very clever way to do it. Now if only we could all get to Maui in time to see you perform. Jazz right? When will we see a video performance on your blog?