Travel Agent Deductions (salary, non-independent employee)

[dbernard2000]

Hello!

I have a question as we go into the 2019 tax return forms... I currently work for a high end travel agency, in a salary position. it is important to note that I do NOT own my own business, and my monetary compensation is in the form of an annual salary, taxed and treated like a normal employee of a company.

That being said, I do extensive travel, often viewing the hotels and airlines I sell. This includes "site inspections" as well, where I tour the properties. I can definitely argue that this helps my performance as an agent, especially since our clients are high end and repeat business. But what exactly can I deduct, and on what conditions?

Can someone give me a small summary if they know?

Thanks!

[MinhT]

If you personally pay for expenses incurred for site inspections and are not reimbursed by your employer, then these expenses are job-related expenses and are not deductible.

In fact, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the itemized deductions for job-related expenses subject to the 2% of AGI floor are suspended for expenses incurred after December 31, 2017 through 2025.

The best way for you is to get your employer reimburse these expenses to you through an accountable plan.

An accountable plan is a method under which an employee is reimbursed for expenses which he or she pays and provides substantiation for the proof.  These expenses are deductible by the Company and nothing gets to be reported on the W-2 or other tax documents of the employee..

[dbernard2000]

Thank you for your reply. Last year I remember TurboTax asking me a question about certain job related expenses... it used the example of a person attending a conference as just one example. I conduct site inspection meetings during my travel, would this still qualify under that section?

[BillM223 · Accepted solution]

Although the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 eliminated most unreimbursed employee business expenses (this is what we are talking about), not all states did.

If I understand what question you are referring to, it is likely being asked because it may be useful at the state level. In most cases, TurboTax has you enter data on the federal return which carries to the state(s), and as you are entering the federal return, TurboTax doesn't know yet if you will need it on a state.

When in doubt, enter the data asked for so that TurboTax can give you the optimal tax treatment.