gkisystems
Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Wisconsin.
I travel 48 miles per day M-F for a total of 240 miles/week between my home and my normal work location. On weekends, I work about 2-4 hours every Sunday from home and perhaps an occasional Saturday I'll work from home as well. My home office is provided at my expense (my company does not reimburse me any costs I incur for home office expenses) and the work I do for my employer on the weekends is mandatory - not optional. I am a salaried employee and I am not paid any overtime. Any extra work done on weekends is not compensated.
Occasionally (less than once per month and NOT on any regularly scheduled basis), it is mandatory for me to drive into work on a weekend because either my home office is not adequate to complete the work (Internet access not working for example) or an in-person meeting/work session is required of me and other employees.
Because when I do work weekends, I normally work from home, I consider my home my normal work station on Saturday and Sunday. I'm essentially asking if my place of employment during my M-F work week is then considered a "temporary work location" because I rarely/infrequently drive into work when working on the weekend.
My question is this:
While I know I cannot deduct my normal commute costs to/from the office, is my mileage considered "business travel" instead of "commute" when driving to the office during non-business days? I would like to know if this weekend travel is deductible in terms of mileage and meal expenses if it is not reimbursed by my company.
Relevant Information I found from the IRS:
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p463/ch04.html
Daily transportation expenses you incur while traveling from home to one or more regular places of business are generally nondeductible commuting expenses. However, there may be exceptions to this general rule. You can deduct daily transportation expenses incurred going between your residence and a temporary work station outside the metropolitan area where you live. Also, daily transportation expenses can be deducted if: (1) you have one or more regular work locations away from your residence or (2) your residence is your principal place of business and you incur expenses going between the residence and another work location in the same trade or business, regardless of whether the work is temporary or permanent and regardless of the distance.
Illustration of transportation expenses. Figure B , earlier, illustrates the rules that apply for deducting transportation expenses when you have a regular or main job away from your home. You may want to refer to it when deciding whether you can deduct your transportation expenses.
Temporary work location. If you have one or more regular work locations away from your home and you commute to a temporary work location in the same trade or business, you can deduct the expenses of the daily round-trip transportation between your home and the temporary location, regardless of distance.
If your employment at a work location is realistically expected to last (and does in fact last) for 1 year or less, the employment is temporary unless there are facts and circumstances that would indicate otherwise.
If your employment at a work location is realistically expected to last for more than 1 year or if there is no realistic expectation that the employment will last for 1 year or less, the employment is not temporary, regardless of whether it actually lasts for more than 1 year.
If employment at a work location initially is realistically expected to last for 1 year or less, but at some later date the employment is realistically expected to last more than 1 year, that employment will be treated as temporary (unless there are facts and circumstances that would indicate otherwise) until your expectation changes. It will not be treated as temporary after the date you determine it will last more than 1 year.
If the temporary work location is beyond the general area of your regular place of work and you stay overnight, you are traveling away from home. You may have deductible travel expenses as discussed in chapter 1 .
I travel 48 miles per day M-F for a total of 240 miles/week between my home and my normal work location. On weekends, I work about 2-4 hours every Sunday from home and perhaps an occasional Saturday I'll work from home as well. My home office is provided at my expense (my company does not reimburse me any costs I incur for home office expenses) and the work I do for my employer on the weekends is mandatory - not optional. I am a salaried employee and I am not paid any overtime. Any extra work done on weekends is not compensated.
Occasionally (less than once per month and NOT on any regularly scheduled basis), it is mandatory for me to drive into work on a weekend because either my home office is not adequate to complete the work (Internet access not working for example) or an in-person meeting/work session is required of me and other employees.
Because when I do work weekends, I normally work from home, I consider my home my normal work station on Saturday and Sunday. I'm essentially asking if my place of employment during my M-F work week is then considered a "temporary work location" because I rarely/infrequently drive into work when working on the weekend.
My question is this:
While I know I cannot deduct my normal commute costs to/from the office, is my mileage considered "business travel" instead of "commute" when driving to the office during non-business days? I would like to know if this weekend travel is deductible in terms of mileage and meal expenses if it is not reimbursed by my company.
Relevant Information I found from the IRS:
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p463/ch04.html
Daily transportation expenses you incur while traveling from home to one or more regular places of business are generally nondeductible commuting expenses. However, there may be exceptions to this general rule. You can deduct daily transportation expenses incurred going between your residence and a temporary work station outside the metropolitan area where you live. Also, daily transportation expenses can be deducted if: (1) you have one or more regular work locations away from your residence or (2) your residence is your principal place of business and you incur expenses going between the residence and another work location in the same trade or business, regardless of whether the work is temporary or permanent and regardless of the distance.
Illustration of transportation expenses. Figure B , earlier, illustrates the rules that apply for deducting transportation expenses when you have a regular or main job away from your home. You may want to refer to it when deciding whether you can deduct your transportation expenses.
Temporary work location. If you have one or more regular work locations away from your home and you commute to a temporary work location in the same trade or business, you can deduct the expenses of the daily round-trip transportation between your home and the temporary location, regardless of distance.
If your employment at a work location is realistically expected to last (and does in fact last) for 1 year or less, the employment is temporary unless there are facts and circumstances that would indicate otherwise.
If your employment at a work location is realistically expected to last for more than 1 year or if there is no realistic expectation that the employment will last for 1 year or less, the employment is not temporary, regardless of whether it actually lasts for more than 1 year.
If employment at a work location initially is realistically expected to last for 1 year or less, but at some later date the employment is realistically expected to last more than 1 year, that employment will be treated as temporary (unless there are facts and circumstances that would indicate otherwise) until your expectation changes. It will not be treated as temporary after the date you determine it will last more than 1 year.
If the temporary work location is beyond the general area of your regular place of work and you stay overnight, you are traveling away from home. You may have deductible travel expenses as discussed in chapter 1 .
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