Yes, you probably can claim some travel expense. There are three things you'll have to master.
You first have to figure out where your "Tax Home" is.
To determine whether you are traveling away from home, you must first determine the location of your tax home.
Generally, your tax home is your regular place of business or post of duty, regardless of where you maintain your family home. It includes the entire city or general area in which your business or work is located.
If you have more than one regular place of business, your tax home is your main place of business. See Main place of business or work , later.
If you don’t have a regular or a main place of business because of the nature of your work, then your tax home may be the place where you regularly live. See No main place of business or work , later.
If you don’t have a regular or a main place of business or post of duty and there is no place where you regularly live, you are considered an itinerant (a transient) and your tax home is wherever you work. As an itinerant, you cannot claim a travel expense deduction because you are never considered to be traveling away from home.
Main place of business or work. If you have more than one place of business or work, consider the following when determining which one is your main place of business or work.
The total time you ordinarily spend in each place.
The level of your business activity in each place.
Whether your income from each place is significant or insignificant.
Example.
You live in Cincinnati where you have a seasonal job for 8 months each year and earn $40,000. You work the other 4 months in Miami, also at a seasonal job, and earn $15,000. Cincinnati is your main place of work because you spend most of your time there and earn most of your income there.
No main place of business or work. You may have a tax home even if you don’t have a regular or main place of business or work. Your tax home may be the home where you regularly live.
Factors used to determine tax home. If you don’t have a regular or main place of business or work, use the following three factors to determine where your tax home is.
You perform part of your business in the area of your main home and use that home for lodging while doing business in the area.
You have living expenses at your main home that you duplicate because your business requires you to be away from that home.
You haven’t abandoned the area in which both your historical place of lodging and your claimed main home are located; you have a member or members of your family living at your main home; or you often use that home for lodging.
. If you satisfy only two factors, you may have a tax home depending on all the facts and circumstances. If you satisfy only one factor, you are an itinerant; your tax home is wherever you work and you cannot deduct travel expenses.
Next you have to determine of your are "Traveling Away From Home"
2. Traveling Away From Home
You are traveling away from home if:
Your duties require you to be away from the general area of your Tax Home (defined later) substantially longer than an ordinary day's work, and
You need to sleep or rest to meet the demands of your work while away from home.
This rest requirement is not satisfied by merely napping in your car. You don’t have to be away from your tax home for a whole day or from dusk to dawn as long as your relief from duty is long enough to get necessary sleep or rest.
Lastly,
3. What Travel Expenses Are Deductible?
Once you have determined that you are traveling away from your tax home, you can determine what travel expenses are deductible.
You can deduct ordinary and necessary expenses you have when you travel away from home on business. The type of expense you can deduct depends on the facts and your circumstances.
Table 26-1 summarizes travel expenses you may be able to deduct. You may have other deductible travel expenses that are not covered there, depending on the facts and your circumstances.
When you travel away from home on business, you should keep records of all the expenses you have and any advances you receive from your employer. You can use a log, diary, notebook, or any other written record to keep track of your expenses. The types of expenses you need to record, along with supporting documentation, are described in
Table 26-2, later.
Separating costs. If you have one expense that includes the costs of meals, entertainment, and other services (such as lodging or transportation), you must allocate that expense between the cost of meals and entertainment and the cost of other services. You must have a reasonable basis for making this allocation. For example, you must allocate your expenses if a hotel includes one or more meals in its room charge.
