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Taxes for business travelers: What is and isn't deductible
Source:
usatoday.com
- Jun 7, 2013
5:54 p.m. EDT April 8, 2013
African safaris. Drinks at strip clubs. Gifts for wives and children. Wine-tasting trips. An orthopedic "doughnut" cushion.
Accountants and other tax experts say they've seen it all when it comes to expenses business travelers try to deduct during tax season. Sometimes, they're legitimate. Often, they're not.
Philip Panitz, a tax litigator at Panitz & Kossoff in Westlake Village, Calif., once had a physician try to deduct his wife's snorkeling expenses in Hawaii while he was at a medical seminar.
"In his eyes, that was worthy of a deduction, because if it wasn't for the business trip, she wouldn't be there snorkeling," he says.
Not legitimate.
The deadline for filing your tax returns is six days away. As you do your last-minute filings, be aware there are certain business travel expenses you'd be surprised you can deduct and others you can't. Just be prepared to offer documentation — even in the form of handwritten notes — to back them up.
"Make sure to keep track of all receipts and records. The easiest and most efficient way is to write on the back of each slip the following: reason of the expense, name of the person you met, the location and date," says Paul Golden, spokesman for the National Endowment for Financial Education.
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Category: General Business
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