Deductible expenses

[sfddallas]

I took a trip to Spain to investigate purchasing property.  We are purchasing through an LLC based in the US but it has not been started yet to avoid having to file a no business form for this year.  Are my expenses for my trip to meet with the banks and real estate agents in Valencia deductible?

[Kelly Thomas C]

As long as your expenses have a legitimate business purpose they are deductible. Make sure you document what that business purpose is. You mentioned that you did not want to form your LLC in order to "...avoid having to file a no business form this year." Keep in mind that if the LLC is a single-member owner, you will not have another tax filing to make, rather you will include the income and expenses in a Schedule C on Form 1040, your personal return. It's only if there are multiple owners of an LLC that you would need to file an additional tax return e.g. 1065 P ship, 1120 S corp, 1120 corp.

I hope this is helpful.

Kelly C

CPA