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Does this meet the definition of business travel or is it normal commute?

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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 .
 
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FlyingRon

Senior Member
Your home office is not your normal place of business even if you customarily work from there on the weekends. None of this mileage is a business expense.
 
Your home office is not your normal place of business even if you customarily work from there on the weekends. None of this mileage is a business expense.
Let me change the scope of my question then from tax law to company policy (as it pertains to mileage reimbursement). Obviously, the company can choose to reimburse or not reimburse - as that is their right. However, what is the most accurate interpretation of company policy (the way it is written today) in this circumstance?

Company Policy:

"Employees are reimbursed only for miles in excess of their normal commute. There is no mileage reimbursement for daily commuting."

My Interpretation:

My miles are both abnormal and in excess of my normal commute (288 miles vs. the typical 240 miles for the week), therefore my situation is reimbursable under company policy. My situation is not excluded because my commuting is not "daily" and therefore not excluded.

The common dictionary definition of “daily” is “occurring every day or every weekday.” The “every day” interpretation of “daily” is not applicable because the company has both implicitly and explicitly interpreted a work week as 5 days instead of 7. For example, at the time of hire, the company explicitly stated weeks of vacation in terms of 1 week = 5 days instead of 1 week = 7 days. The company also implicitly interprets a work week as 5 days because there is no expectation to come in 7 days/week every single week, nor is there any negative consequence for not doing so.

Therefore, the applicable definition of “daily” is “every weekday” which explicitly excludes Saturdays and Sundays. As a result, I would argue that business travel done on weekends is not excluded for reimbursement by company policy because it is not “daily commuting.”

Your thoughts?
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Let me change the scope of my question then from tax law to company policy (as it pertains to mileage reimbursement). Obviously, the company can choose to reimburse or not reimburse - as that is their right. However, what is the most accurate interpretation of company policy (the way it is written today) in this circumstance?

Company Policy:

"Employees are reimbursed only for miles in excess of their normal commute. There is no mileage reimbursement for daily commuting."

My Interpretation:

My miles are both abnormal and in excess of my normal commute (288 miles vs. the typical 240 miles for the week), therefore my situation is reimbursable under company policy. My situation is not excluded because my commuting is not "daily" and therefore not excluded.

The common dictionary definition of “daily” is “occurring every day or every weekday.” The “every day” interpretation of “daily” is not applicable because the company has both implicitly and explicitly interpreted a work week as 5 days instead of 7. For example, at the time of hire, the company explicitly stated weeks of vacation in terms of 1 week = 5 days instead of 1 week = 7 days. The company also implicitly interprets a work week as 5 days because there is no expectation to come in 7 days/week every single week, nor is there any negative consequence for not doing so.

Therefore, the applicable definition of “daily” is “every weekday” which explicitly excludes Saturdays and Sundays. As a result, I would argue that business travel done on weekends is not excluded for reimbursement by company policy because it is not “daily commuting.”

Your thoughts?
I think you're wrong. Yours is a normal, daily commute. You could try to convince they company that they should reimburse you under their policy, but there is no requirement that they do so. Be careful, if you get too pushy, they may simply decide that you're not worth the trouble and terminate you.
 

introvert

Junior Member
It is your commute to work. It is where you go to work when you're not able to work from home on Sunday.

Employers divide your annual salary into weekly increments to determine your check amount and to track vacation time, FMLA, etc. A five day work week is pretty standard for this purpose. Although working on Sunday is mandatory, they can still use a 5 day work week for payroll purposes.

Also, you are paid for your work on weekends because you are salaried.
 
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I think you're wrong. Yours is a normal, daily commute. You could try to convince they company that they should reimburse you under their policy, but there is no requirement that they do so. Be careful, if you get too pushy, they may simply decide that you're not worth the trouble and terminate you.
Zigner, I'm curious to know why you consider the commute normal instead of abnormal and why it is a "daily" (the term "daily" excludes weekends) commute instead of a "weekend" commute.

It is your commute to work. It is where you go to work when you're not able to work from home on Sunday.

Employers divide your annual salary into weekly increments to determine your check amount and to track vacation time, FMLA, etc. A five day work week is pretty standard for this purpose. Although working on Sunday is mandatory, they can still use a 5 day work week for payroll purposes.

Also, you are paid for your work on weekends because you are salaried.
Introvert - I think what it hinges on is being abnormal (instead of normal), in excess of normal (instead of equal to or less than normal), and occurring on a weekend (instead of daily). Working onsite M-F is the rule, not the exception. Working onsite Sat-Sun is the exception, not the rule.

For example, the IRS says you can deduct travel to a different workplace (a special 1-week training course for example) if it is not your normal workplace even if the different workplace is closer to your home than your normal workplace is.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Zigner, I'm curious to know why you consider the commute normal instead of abnormal and why it is a "daily" (the term "daily" excludes weekends) commute instead of a "weekend" commute.
You have decided that "daily" excludes weekends. I believe that you are wrong.
 
You have decided that "daily" excludes weekends. I believe that you are wrong.
Why would "daily" include weekends? Daily means either:

1. Every day.

Or

2. Every weekday.

Because a weekday excludes Saturday and Sunday by definition, you must be supportive of the interpretation of "daily" to mean "every day." However, how could the "every day commute" be an everyday commute if the commute is not made or expected every day, including weekends?
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Why would "daily" include weekends? Daily means either:

1. Every day.

Or

2. Every weekday.

Because a weekday excludes Saturday and Sunday by definition, you must be supportive of the interpretation of "daily" to mean "every day." However, how could the "every day commute" be an everyday commute if the commute is not made or expected every day, including weekends?

According to www.dictionary.com, the word "daily" can also be defined as: "computed or measured by the day"

ETA: You've made your mind up. Good day.
 

davew128

Senior Member
gkisystems, do you know what the difference is for the days you normally drive to the office versus the weekend days you sometimes have to do it?

A: The day of the week you do it.

Your normal work location is the office, not the home office.
 

introvert

Junior Member
Introvert - I think what it hinges on is being abnormal (instead of normal), in excess of normal (instead of equal to or less than normal), and occurring on a weekend (instead of daily). Working onsite M-F is the rule, not the exception. Working onsite Sat-Sun is the exception, not the rule.

For example, the IRS says you can deduct travel to a different workplace (a special 1-week training course for example) if it is not your normal workplace even if the different workplace is closer to your home than your normal workplace is.
Working on Sunday is the rule. You are fortunate to be able to work from home most weekends; however, it's not abnormal that you have to commute to your normal place of work occasionally.
 

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