![](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/snd-store\/a\/108091475\/06_02_25_1054148699_sbtb_560x292.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
If you or your employees are heading out of town for business this summer, it\u2019s important to understand what travel expenses can be deducted under current tax law. To qualify, the travel must be necessary for your business and require an overnight stay within the United States.<\/p>\n
Note: Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, employees can\u2019t deduct their unreimbursed travel expenses on their own tax returns through 2025. That\u2019s because unreimbursed employee business expenses are \u201cmiscellaneous itemized deductions\u201d that aren\u2019t deductible through 2025. In the \u201cOne, Big, Beautiful Bill,\u201d passed by the U.S. House and now being considered by the Senate, miscellaneous itemized deductions would be permanently eliminated. Keep in mind that pending legislation could still change.<\/p>\n
However, self-employed individuals and businesses can continue to deduct business expenses, including expenses for away-from-home travel.<\/p>\n
Deduction rules to know<\/strong><\/p>\n Travel expenses like airfare, taxi rides and other transportation costs for out-of-town business trips are deductible. You can deduct the cost of meals and lodging, even if meals aren\u2019t tied directly to a business discussion. However, meal deductions are limited to 50% in 2025.<\/p>\n Keep in mind that expenses must be reasonable based on the facts and circumstances. Extravagant or lavish meals and lodging aren\u2019t deductible. However, this doesn\u2019t mean you have to frequent inexpensive restaurants. According to IRS Publication 463, Travel, Gift and Car Expenses, \u201cMeal expenses won\u2019t be disallowed merely because they are more than a fixed dollar amount or because the meals take place at deluxe restaurants, hotels or resorts.\u201d<\/p>\n What other expenses are deductible? Items such as dry cleaning, business calls and laptop rentals are deductible if they\u2019re business-related. However, entertainment and personal costs (for example, sightseeing, movies and pet boarding) aren\u2019t deductible.<\/p>\n Business vs. personal travel<\/strong><\/p>\n If you combine business with leisure, you\u2019ll need to divide the expenses. Here are the basic rules:<\/p>\n Note: The primary purpose rules are stricter for international travel.<\/p>\n Special considerations<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re attending a seminar or conference, be prepared to prove that it\u2019s business-related and not just a vacation in disguise. Keep all relevant documentation that can help prove the professional or business nature of the travel.<\/p>\n What about bringing your spouse along? Travel expenses for a spouse generally aren\u2019t deductible unless he or she is a bona fide employee and the travel serves a legitimate business purpose.<\/p>\n Maximize deductions<\/strong><\/p>\n Tax rules can be tricky, especially when business and personal travel overlap. To protect your deductions, keep receipts and detailed records of dates, locations, business purposes and attendees (for meals). Reach out to us for guidance on what\u2019s deductible in your specific situation.<\/p>\n \u00a9 2025<\/em><\/p>\n <\/body> If you or your employees are heading out of town for business this summer, it\u2019s important to understand what travel expenses can be deducted under current tax law. To qualify, the travel must be necessary for your business and require an overnight stay within the United States. Note: Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,10,16],"tags":[8,11,12],"class_list":["post-17305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-news","category-small-business-tax","tag-articles","tag-news","tag-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17305"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17306,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17305\/revisions\/17306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n<\/html><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"