If I live in Hawaii and work in California, can I deduct travel expenses?

Question

I fly back to Hawaii every other week x 7 days. My place of residence is in Hawaii.

Answer 1

Apparently not.

From the IRS website:

Generally, your tax home is the entire city or general area where your main place of business or work is located, regardless of where you maintain your family home.

For example, you live with your family in Chicago but work in Milwaukee where you stay in a hotel and eat in restaurants. You return to Chicago every weekend. You may not deduct any of your travel, meals, or lodging in Milwaukee because that is your tax home. Your travel on weekends to your family home in Chicago is not for your work, so these expenses are also not deductible. If you regularly work in more than one place, your tax home is the general area where your main place of business or work is located.

More info on biz deductions:
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc511.html

Answer 2

There's a bit of clarification that's needed here. If you are a small business owner, then yes you would be able to write off your travel expenses, meals, utilities and home office space (among a few other things).

The question may be moreso, who should I pay my taxes to, or which state is responsible for my tax deductions? In the above scenario, Hawaii is your place of residence and business, so you should be filing taxes within your state. Additionally, you should always file all receipts and documentation for full compliance in the event of a routine tax audit.

Now, maybe you are an employee of a company who covers your lodging, per diem, and other travel related expenses. You cover all of your costs upfront, and are then reimbursed by your employer. In such a scenario, you would not be eligible for travel write offs, as you are not incurring any individual expenses.

If your employer only *partially* reimburses you, then you may write off a portion of your travel related expenses.

If your employer fully reimburses you, and you are not eligible for write offs, the best I can suggest is that you use a frequent flyer mile or point based credit card that offers perks to members, ie. American Express' Delta Skymiles program (free flights, crown room, dining/entertainment perks) for charges.

I've included a short article that addresses Tax Deduction for Employee Travel and Entertainment Expenses.

Answer 3

No. No deduction is authorized for return and forth from domicile to a area the place you assume to artwork for extra desirable than a year, or for return and forth from a area like that to domicile. artwork-appropriate return and forth can basically be deducted if the two (a) you're going from one place the place you artwork and don't stay to a different place the place you artwork and don't stay (you need to artwork in the two place, and you could't stay in the two place), or (b) the artwork area is non everlasting and anticipated to final decrease than a year. basically one holiday, in only one course, may well be deducted as a shifting/relocation rate.

Answer 4

No your tax home is California. This is a personal commuting expense. The job is not temporary, meaning expected to last no more than one year.

Answer 5

yes

Answer 6

check with a tax accountant you should be able to...