Friday, June 6, 2014

How to Make Your Summer Vacation Tax Deductible

Marketwatch advises:

First, decide where you’d love to go. Next, decide how you want to be able to write off your trip, either by making this a passive or active business trip.

If you want to make this a passive event — one where the business purpose happens to you — then find a conference, convention or course related to your business, profession, union, job, or career. Anything that improves your professional skills and knowledge can be treated as a business expense or job-related expense. Beware, though, if it trains you for a new business or profession, you won’t be able to deduct it.

How can you find such events? Contact your professional association, trade association, union or other organization related to your profession. Or even Google your request. There’s always something going on somewhere. For instance, in the accounting world, there are education providers, like Western CPE, NAEA, and even the IRS, that host courses in resort areas like Las Vegas, Disney World, Hawaii, New Orleans, and more.

Once you select your event, schedule your time so you spend at least four hours a day participating in the event or course. Keep time logs or sign-in information to prove your participation. You can spend the rest of the time with your family or friends.

Schedule the trip within the U.S. so you arrive on the day before the event and leave a day or two after it. Your airfare will be deductible. So will your room for the nights of the event. If your spouse or companion shares the room, it’s still fully deductible during the event, and night before or after. But when it comes to meals, only yours are deductible — not those of your companions.

1 comment:

  1. You can rent a place with a kitchen through a vacation rental service like vrbo or airbnb. All of the homes I have rented have had kitchens fairly well stocked with basics and I always leave a little more than I found. One or two nights at a nice local hotspot for two=approx cost of meals for the conference attendee for 4-5 days. Most association conferences include breakfast and lunches in between sessions.

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