I work in another state. Can I deduct rent for my apartment?

[keene2252]

My permanent residence is Florida, where I claim homestead, own a home and have a mortgage, pay taxes, etc.

However, I work in Georgia.  I rent a small apartment for $500/month so I am able to work there.

Can I deduct this on business expenses as well as traveling back and forth?

[ronaldrozzo]

My permanent residence is Florida, where I claim homestead, own a home and have a mortgage, pay taxes, etc. However, I work in North Carolina. I rent a small apartment for $934/month so I am able to work here in North Carolina. This is where my job is and they did not pay for relocation at all. Can I deduct not only the relocation costs but my current rent expenses?

[re2boys]

@ronaldrozzo Start a new thread/question!  It is impossible to have a discussion in the middle of a two year old convoluted thread .

[ronaldrozzo]

How do I start a new thread/question? I clicked on the link below "Post your question to the community" but it stops me saying 15-170 characters and 3 words. I don't know what that means. My question was less than 170 characters and more than 3 words so why will it not let me go to the next step?

[MelanieP · Accepted solution]

Yes. You can deduct your travel and work related expenses, (the Georgia rental,) to and from Florida and Georgia.

Although Turbo Tax automatically calculates your allowable expenses and deductions, the IRS link below explains in detail how Turbo Tax completes the task. 

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc511.html

Start the entries in the "Home and Business" product by entering data into the;

1. "Personal Information" (first gray tab on the upper left side of page beneath the blue banner,)

2. If you receive a W2 you will also enter the information in "Personal" (the 3rd gray tab,) under sub tab "Wages and Income" and it auto flows into "Credit and Deductions" and then "State Taxes" Tab as you progress through your filing.

3. If you are a LLC, Corporation, Independent Contractor or Sole Proprietor then you enter the information in the second gray tab "Business" and Turbo Tax guides you through the process. You will be able to create your own W2 or choose an appropriate option for computing the lowest Tax debt or Highest refund available.

The Georgia Department of Revenue link below outlines further details on a "Non-Resident" filing;

http://dor.georgia.gov/ 

"Nonresidents, who work in Georgia or receive income from Georgia sources and are required to file a Federal income tax return, are required to file a Georgia income tax return. Some examples of Georgia source income are wages, Georgia lottery winnings, income from flow through entities (s-corporations, partnerships, LLC’s, trusts, and estates), rents, etc. If you are a legal resident of another state, you are not required to file a Georgia income tax return if your only activity for financial gain or profit in Georgia consists of performing services in Georgia for an employer as an employee when the compensation for services performed does not exceed the lesser of five percent of the income received in all places during the taxable year or $5,000."

[snowcrash7]

The response given above, that one CAN deduct rent out of state if having to take  a job out of state, conflicts with the IRS information in the link provided. The link <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc511.html">http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc511.html</a> states the following:
"You are traveling away from home if your duties require you to be away from the general area of your tax home for a period substantially longer than an ordinary day's work, and you need to get sleep or rest to meet the demands of your work while away.
Generally, your tax home is the entire city or general area where your main place of business or work is located, regardless of where you maintain your family home."
Can we get a clarification ?

[SweetieJean]

Travel, rent, etc are only deductible if the job assignment is expected to last one year or less.

[snowcrash7]

THis was not an assignment.The market for my job skill dried up in centralOhio so I took a position in North Carolina.. The company is based in NC. I was forced to rent an apartment while at the same time I was paying a mortgage and property taxes in Ohio.

[SweetieJean]

Sorry, but rent is still not deductible.

[SweetieJean]

Let me clarify:  Rent is not deductible for Federal, but may be for State. If your OH home is vacant, have you considered renting it out?

[mirichard]

In the situation described in the OP message, you absolutely cannot deduct those living expenses.  See below from topic 511, IRS:

"Generally, your tax home is the entire city or general area where your main place of business or work is located, regardless of where you maintain your family home. For example, you live with your family in Chicago but work in Milwaukee where you stay in a hotel and eat in restaurants. You return to Chicago every weekend. You may not deduct any of your travel, meals or lodging in Milwaukee because that is your tax home. Your travel on weekends to your family home in Chicago is not for your work, so these expenses are also not deductible. If you regularly work in more than one place, your tax home is the general area where your main place of business or work is located.

In determining your main place of business, take into account the length of time you normally need to spend at each location for business purposes, the degree of business activity in each area, and the relative significance of the financial return from each area. However, the most important consideration is the length of time you spend at each location.

You can deduct travel expenses paid or incurred in connection with a temporary work assignment away from home. However, you cannot deduct travel expenses paid in connection with an indefinite work assignment. Any work assignment in excess of one year is considered indefinite. Also, you may not deduct travel expenses at a work location if you realistically expect that you will work there for more than one year, whether or not you actually work there that long. If you realistically expect to work at a temporary location for one year or less, and the expectation changes so that at some point you realistically expect to work there for more than one year, travel expenses become nondeductible when your expectation changes. For an exception to the 1-year rule for federal crime investigations or prosecutions, refer to Publication 463, Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses.

You may deduct travel expenses, including meals and lodging you incurred in looking for a new job in your present trade or business. You may not deduct these expenses if you had them while looking for work in a new trade or business or while looking for work for the first time. If you are unemployed and there is a substantial break between the time of your past work and your looking for new work, you may not deduct these expenses, even if the new work is in the same trade or business as your previous work. Refer to Publication 529,Miscellaneous Deductions."

[elmaudlin]

Hello.   My husband works in one company but has different responsibilities within his job.   His second assignment takes him to a city that is 70 miles away so we rent an apartment for the two days he happens to work there.  Can this qualify for a tax deduction?

Thank you,

Elsa Maudlin

[xmasbaby0]

@elmaudlin If he is a W-2 employee, then no, he cannot deduct the apartment expense.  Job-related expenses are not deductible on a federal return for W-2 employees.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/4482873-which-federal-tax-deductions-have-been-suspended-by-tax-re...

[Carl]

Based on the date/time of the original post, it appears to have been imported from the old forum where it was originally posted prior to 2018. It is important to be aware that as of 2018, W-2 work related expenses are *no* *longer* *deductible*. So the "best answer" does not apply and is flat out wrong for tax year 2018 and beyond.

[null78]

It seems that the travel expense link only applies for temporary work or travel.  I have a similar situation: I have a permanent W2 job in Massachusetts; rent an apartment in New Hampshire (cheaper than Massachusetts); but my family and mortgage are in North Carolina.  

Should I still file State taxes in NC while I am filing Non-residency in Massachusetts, even though I did not earn any income in NC? Can I claim the NH apartment as a 'business expense' even though the Massachusetts job is considered a 'permanent' position?