Why sign in to the Community?

  • Submit a question
  • Check your notifications
Sign in to the Community or Sign in to TurboTax and start working on your taxes
New Member
posted Jun 6, 2019 5:47:49 AM

I travel for work that requires me to stay in a hotel for 3 weeks at a time. I'm not reimbursed for laundry expenses and some meals. Can I deduct both types of expenses?

I have receipts for all of my non-reimbursed laundry expenses (dry cleaning and laundromat costs) and meals.  Can I deduct the laundry expenses and meal expenses or is there a dollar amount cap?

0 1 2080
1 Replies
Expert Alumni
Jun 6, 2019 5:47:51 AM

Yes, you can deduct the cost of unreimbursed meals and laundry/dry cleaning expense when you are traveling away from home for business overnight.

If you are an employee, this is an itemized deduction, so you must be able to itemize to claim these expenses. These are Employee Business Expenses, limited to the amount over 2% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).  If you are self-employed, you would deduct the expense on your Schedule C.

You can deduct 50% of the actual cost of your meals, but there is no overall cap on the amount of the expense, as long as it is considered to be both ordinary and necessary. See this link for  a detailed discussion of travel expenses.

You would enter your expenses under Employment Expenses (see the screenshot below), and be sure to enter only the unreimbursed portion. Then you would check that you didn’t receive any reimbursements (see screenshot).

https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3300652


https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/jobs-and-career/tax-deductions-for-business-travelers/L83DdTEZ8