【理财】節稅小幫手 216 - TRAVEL EXPENSES | 佳財會計師事務所

Travel expense is a typical expense incurred by the business. However, because the amount is often significant, it has always been a popular IRS audit target. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the criteria before you decide to claim this expense.

To claim the travel expense, you are required by the IRS to have a business purpose. A business purpose needs to be specific and with documentation. You also need to spend more than four hours a day, excluding weekends, during a business trip. Your documentation should support your hours spent. Questions always arise when taking your family members with you during your travel. Are they deductible? In general, no, unless they are the company employees. In this case, you will need to separate their travel expenses and make them non-deductible. How do you make them deductible if they are not the company employees? They will need to make a significant contribution to business purposes. For example, they help to generate a company profit because of their presence. In this case, your documentation should clearly state how their involvement with the business and the time spent.

Documentation is vital to succeeding in the IRS audit. You should keep all receipts and written notes in the digital format so they will last many years to come.