I believe your answer is incorrect. Publication 527 states: Travel expenses. You can deduct the ordinary and necessary expenses of traveling away from home if the primary purpose of the trip is to collect rental income or to manage, conserve, or maintain your rental property. You must properly allocate your expenses between rental and non-rental activities.
In addition, Publication 463 (Travel Expenses) states: Trip Primarily for Business - You can deduct all of your travel expenses if your trip was entirely business related. If your trip was primarily for business and, while at your business destination, you extended your stay for a vacation, made a personal side trip, or had other personal activities, you can deduct only your business-related travel expenses. These expenses include the travel costs of getting to and from your business destination and any business-related expenses at your destination.
So meals on business days should be deductible as well as mileage to/from the rental (which is out of state from us) as the primary purpose of the trip was to do repairs/maintenance and prepare the rental for renters coming in.
I'm still trying to figure out the answer to the original question - how many of us can I claim the meal allowance for.
But thanks for trying to answer my question.
Coleen
