Frequently Asked Tax Questions And Answers
Keyword: Travel Expenses
11.1 Sale or Trade of Business, Depreciation, Rentals: Depreciation & Recapture
A Sole Proprietor's business use of a car or truck is claimed on line 9 and Part IV of Form 1040, Schedule C (PDF), Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business or, if eligible, line 2 of Form 1040, Schedule C-EZ (PDF), Net Profit from Business. You may use either the actual expense method in calculating your car or truck expense or, if eligible, the standard mileage rate but not both. Depreciation expense is already included in this standard mileage rate. Depreciation is only calculated as a separate expense when using the actual expense method. Deductible employee business use of a car or truck may be taken on Form 2106 (PDF), Employee Business Expenses , or if, eligible, line 1 of Form 2106-EZ (PDF), Unreimbursed Employee Business Expenses. The car and truck expenses are then taken with other employee business expenses on line 20, Form 1040, Schedule A&B (PDF) Itemized Deductions. For more information, refer to Publication 463, Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses, and Publication 535, Business Expenses .
Meal expenses are deductible only if your trip is overnight or long enough that you need to stop for sleep or rest to properly perform your duties. The amount of the meal expenses must be substantiated, but instead of keeping records of the actual cost of your meal expenses you can generally use a standard meal allowance. The amount allowed varies, depending on where and when you travel. Refer to Publication 1542, Per Diem Rates (For Travel Within the Continental United States), for per diem rates.
Generally, the deduction for unreimbursed business meals is limited to 50% of the cost that would otherwise be deductible.
For more information on business travel expenses and restrictions, refer to Tax Topic 511, or Chapter 1 of Publication 463, Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses, and Publication 1542, Per Diem Rates.