If you do extend your trip for vacation, you can only deduct the expenses that were directly related to work and took place on the days that you conducted business. But if you add a couple days at the beach onto your preplanned business trip to the coast, you could still write off at least some of your lodging fees, he explained. “You can’t simply do some work while on the beach and call it a business trip," said Watson. If you normally stay in more modest hotels, trying to deduct a luxe property stay could raise red flags. Know, too, that you must be away from home overnight-the IRS requires an overnight stay for the trip to qualify as business travel, explained Wheelwright. ![]() “Save the emailed confirmation and receipt from the hotel reservation or conference ticket payment that show the dates, times, and name of the events as well as the receipts from the travel it took to get there and back ,” said Ben Watson, founder of Fiscal Fluency, a personal finance and business coaching company. On receipts, write the name of the client who you had the meal with for further proof. You also must have documentation, which includes receipts, of what you did, and a log of your expenses,” said Wheelwright. “So, if you spend four and a half hours a day doing business, it becomes deductible. To get a deduction for travel, Wheelwright said that you must spend more than half your time during the business day doing business and have everything documented. Lastly, every expense must be properly documented. Necessary means it actually helps you increase your profits or expand your business,” explained Tom Wheelwright, a certified public accountant and author of the book Tax-Free Wealth. “An ordinary expense means it’s typical in your business, both amount frequency and purpose. The second and third requirements deem that the trip must be both “ordinary and necessary,” according to IRS guidelines on business travel expenses. The activity should have the potential to generate revenue. Pass these four testsįor starters, your trip must have a business purpose, meaning it must include activities such as client meetings, attending a conference, being a guest speaker at a conference, doing research and development for the business, or holding a board meeting or annual shareholders’ meeting. ![]() Here’s what it takes to get two thumbs up from the IRS. Can you legally write off your trip? If you’re self-employed-for example, if you’re an entrepreneur, freelancer, or consultant, or have an online business-and did some work while on the road, there’s a good chance you can. Now that summer has come and gone leaving behind a trail of vacation memories-and expenses-you may be looking for ways to recoup some of the cost.
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